HASSAN: Residents of Kinnarahalli have started to cook food free-of-cost after switching over from LPG cylinders to gobar gas about two months ago.
Kinnarahalli, about 18 km from Hassan, has 80 houses. People here were told by officials of Biofuel Park, Madenur in Hassan, about the benefits of shifting to gobar gas and they responded positively.
The family of Praveen, a driver, was dependent on LPG for two-years. His family shifted to gobar gas a month ago. He says LPG is now a stand-by only to be used if the gobar gas unit develops a problem.
Having installed the unit a month ago, Praveen says cooking has been convenient for the family which has five members. Besides, slurry from the unit will be used as manure. Unlike the case of an LPG cylinder where a person has to spend '500 for a subsidised cylinder, Praveen says that “cooking has become free of cost since cowdung for the unit is available from his cattle stock.” His neighbour Bhagyamma says she cooks food hassle-free using gobar gas.
Spurred by the success of gobar gas, a villager, Lokesh, acted as a bridge between villagers and Biofuel Park officials in getting units installed. He says 28 families have got gobar units since November last. A couple of redundant units have been revived while 22 families have no space to install gobar units. By May, Kinnarahalli would be tagged a smokeless village, head of Bio-fuel Project, Balakrishna Gowda told DC on Sunday. In addition to Kinnarahalli, six other villages would be tagged as “smokeless villages’ in Hassan.
