Md. Salim Hossain, Jessore :
Rubia Khatun is a housewife at Bahirampur village under Jhikargachha upazila. She lives with her husband Kamal Hossain and three other members in her family. Instead of burning woods or branches of trees she now cooks food by using bio-gas.
‘It makes my life easier and smooth’, she told New Nation.
‘By using two baskets of cow- dung I get sufficient gas for every day cooking’, Rubia added.
Costing Tk 19,000 I set up a bio-gas plant beside my house with the help of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BSCIR), Rubia added.
In addition, I got Tk 12,000 as no-refundable grant from Institute of Fuel Research and development (IFRD) of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BSCIR).
Like Rubia, Parvin Akhter, wife of Ruhul Kuddus of Bahirampur village now use bio-gas for cooking her food for a four member family.
Mohammad Shah Jamal, project director, Mitigation of Carbon Emission and Extension of Alternative Energy usage through dissemination of Biogas Plant and Improved Cook Stove told New Nation that by using 80 kilograms of cow-waste every user produce some 105 cft biogas in a single plant. ‘There are 293 such plants in Jessore districts’, he added.
Nazrul Islam, chairman, Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BSCIR) told New Nation while visiting biogas plants in Jessore told that BSCIR is the lonely research and testing institute in Bangladesh which contributes the country to change socio-economic position of the country. ‘Around 5,000 tests are done there in BSCIR which is well known as Science Laboratory’, he added.
Research is underway to bring such a technology in which people can cook food by using solar energy. ‘We have already succeeded in cooking rice on the rooftops by using the technology’, the chairman added.
SM Asaduzzaman Sujan, senior scientific officer, Institute of Fuel Research and development (IFRD) and also deputy project director, Mitigation of Carbon Emission and Extension of Alternative Energy usage through dissemination of Biogas Plant and Improved Cook Stove told New Nation that being funded by Climate Change Fund of the Climate Change Unit of the ministry of Environment and Forest is implementing the project in Jessore, Bagura, Bagerhat, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Barishal, Natore, Rajshahi, Chapainawabgonj, Naogaon, Jaipurhat, Gaibandha and Nilphamari districts.
‘A total of 5,000 families are being giving supports with biogas plants’, he added.
Abdur Razzak, public relations officer, BCSIR told New Nation that we have a total of 22 million cattle in our county. The cattle leave some 220 million kilograms of cow-dung every day. Each kilogram cattle waste can produce some 1.3 fct gas. ‘Proper use of the cow-waste can save our economy’ he added.
