Nadavayal: At a time when many households in the state are struggling to secure LPG cylinders, a biogas plant installed years ago has turned into a blessing for Biju Pulickal and his family.

A resident of Nadavayal, Biju had never imagined that cooking gas would one day become difficult to obtain when he set up a biogas plant at his home. He installed this plant years ago, mainly to dispose of household waste as well as the waste generated from the cowshed on his premises. Since LPG had always been readily available, the gas produced from the biogas plant was used only occasionally.

However, with cooking gas now becoming hard to procure, all the cooking in his household is now being carried out using gas from the biogas plant. As a result, even if LPG becomes unavailable, cooking in Biju’s kitchen will not come to a halt.

Likewise, many households that had installed biogas plants earlier now find them turning into a blessing in disguise as families across the State struggle to obtain LPG cylinders.

In rural areas, several households have been using biogas plants efficiently for years. Even families that no longer rear cattle continue to produce cooking gas by using waste collected from poultry shops. Moreover, many households still maintain firewood hearths and hence the cooking gas shortage has not created serious difficulties in rural areas.