Biogas units ease life for Telangana tribals in jungles

The tribals who go into the forest disturb their habitat. If they can cook at home with biogas, they do not have to risk their lives for firewood, officials say.
The biogas units set up in the villages are intended to lessen the pain of their arduous life.
The biogas units set up in the villages are intended to lessen the pain of their arduous life.

ADILABAD: With tigers prowling the jungles of Kumurambheem Asifabad district close to the border with Maharashtra, the Forest Department is encouraging the tribals in the area to go for biogas units.
The tribals get two types of benefits.

They can put to better use the vermicompost and secondly, they can cook food on biogas, which obviates the need for them to go into the jungles for firewood. The officials have come up with this idea as the tribals venture into the forest for firewood and thus, risk becoming prey to the tigers and other wildlife. The biogas units set up in the villages are intended to lessen the pain of their arduous life.

The Kagaznagar forest division is one of the habitations where big cats prowl. They migrate to this area from Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. The tribals who go into the forest disturb their habitat. If they can cook at home with biogas, they do not have to risk their lives for firewood, officials say.

A resident, A Bheem Bhai of Penchikalpet, set up a biogas plant using cattle dung and generates gas to cook food. “I am using waste to generate gas. The dung of two bulls is enough,” he says. Siddam Lachu, who is from the same village, says they came to know how to make cooking gas from cow dung after watching the families who have already set up biogas plants.

Vidyasagar Devabhaktuni, president of an NGO SKG Sanga, which has partnered with the Forest Department to help the tribals set up biogas units, says: “We are into this in the Kumurambheem Asifabad district since 2018. We are working with Forest Department to create awareness among the tribals.”
He says that till 2021 they had helped the tribals set up 3,300 units. This year, around 1,300 units have been set up in Tiryani mandal in the district.

The NGO is working in 12 countries to protect soil and make the farmers aware of the value of vermicompost and biogas generation. The NGO monitors the units free of cost for 10 years. He says a biogas unit generates two cubic metres of gas per month which is equal to two LPG domestic cylinders.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com