When someone talks about a slum, the common picture that emerges is of congested lanes., open defecation, sqalor all around and smoky and smelly households. Heat and smoke of conventional cooking fuels and lack of clean toilets together make the situation still worse and intolerable. Sulabh, a pioneering NGO in the field of sanitation has been persuading the authorities for several years that public toilet based bio-gas plants are a dependable source of unconventional energy, which has a dual benefit of clean toilets and almost free energy. For several years, inside the Sulabh campus in Delhi, bulbs are burning and food is cooked on the methane gas harvested from the digester, collecting human excreta from the attached public toilet complex. We regret that still this path-breaking innovation has not been imbibed elsewhere.
In this backdrop, it is highly solacing that such an experiment has changed the fortune of a slum in Tamil Nadu. Till 2012, Bharat Nagar of Tambram district, Tamil Nadu was wretched like any other ghettoes. The same smoke, smell, open defecation were the order of the day. The residents were falling victim of waterborne diseases and their children were dying. Then a few social activists came forward. They got constructed public toilet complexes for the slum, which brought cleanliness there. Then they tried for the bio-gas plant. The only problem, demanding expenditure was the digester. They managed to collect Rs 35 lakh and built the digester. Now like the public toilet complex, they have built public kitchen. The beneficiaries have not to spend a single paisa as the energy is available free from the digester. At a time, one dozen families come with their food raw materials and cook their food within 20 to 30 minutes. No LPG cylinder is required and there is no smoke. It is not only economically beneficial, the general health of the residents has also improved.
The organizers are ready to launch the scheme at 5 other places in the state. According to them, if such a project is started at famous pilgrimages like Tirupati, Sabrimala and the temple of Murugesan, each will generate 3 MW of electricity as these places are visited by thousands of pilgrims daily. That energy is sufficient for the lighting and cooking of these religious places. This experiment on large scale can minimize our dependence on depleting coal reserve for thermal power plants. The very idea of food being cooked on energy from human excreta is a novel idea. Let us hope that this innovation works as an eye opener to other parts of the country.
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