Ever heard of Bhint Budrak? If you haven’t, chances are that you have no idea of the enormity of what this tiny village in Gujarat’s Surat district has achieved thanks to the success of an unusual "bank" – a bank that collects gobar (cow-dung) from residents and then supplies it to a biogas plant that takes care of the hamlet’s energy needs. The people of Bhint Budrak deposit cow-dung in the gobar bank and receive biogas at a nominal cost in return.
Bhint Budrak certainly isn’t the only village in the state that provides biogas to its residents. What sets it apart is the spirit that drives the project. Every single household is actively supportive of the process of change.
The results that the experiment has yielded in Bhint Budrak is in sharp contrast to how other villages have responded to the concept. Sometime ago, the state government had helped several other Gujarat villages set up biogas plants of their own, but most of these plants ran aground in next to no time in the face of apathy on the part of the people that they were meant to benefit.
The village of Methan in north Gujarat’s Sidhhpur taluka has had a community gobar gas plant since 1987. Most residents here use biogas that is produced by the plant. The sarpanch of Methan, Sultan Momeen, says, “It is difficult, but definitely not impossible, to construct and operate a gobar gas plant. It is crucial to involve the locals at every step.” Both Methan and Bhint Budrak are living testimony to that truism.
In Methan, the seeds of success were sown by the village leaders, asserts Momeen. “Everybody was actively involved from day one. The Central government sanctioned Rs 19 lakh for the project. The design and technology was provided by GEDA (Gujarat Energy Development Agency). The people of the village toiled day and night to construct the biogas plant.” A gas connection was provided to every household in Methan with the help of the central government grant. A co-operative society was then set up for the day-to-day administration of the community gobar gas plant. It is still up and running.
Bhint Budrak certainly isn’t the only village in the state that provides biogas to its residents. What sets it apart is the spirit that drives the project. Every single household is actively supportive of the process of change.
The results that the experiment has yielded in Bhint Budrak is in sharp contrast to how other villages have responded to the concept. Sometime ago, the state government had helped several other Gujarat villages set up biogas plants of their own, but most of these plants ran aground in next to no time in the face of apathy on the part of the people that they were meant to benefit.
The village of Methan in north Gujarat’s Sidhhpur taluka has had a community gobar gas plant since 1987. Most residents here use biogas that is produced by the plant. The sarpanch of Methan, Sultan Momeen, says, “It is difficult, but definitely not impossible, to construct and operate a gobar gas plant. It is crucial to involve the locals at every step.” Both Methan and Bhint Budrak are living testimony to that truism.
In Methan, the seeds of success were sown by the village leaders, asserts Momeen. “Everybody was actively involved from day one. The Central government sanctioned Rs 19 lakh for the project. The design and technology was provided by GEDA (Gujarat Energy Development Agency). The people of the village toiled day and night to construct the biogas plant.” A gas connection was provided to every household in Methan with the help of the central government grant. A co-operative society was then set up for the day-to-day administration of the community gobar gas plant. It is still up and running.
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