DNA/PUNE/14th Mar. ‘09: The Ghole Road ward office of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has set a fuel-saving example. A bio-gas plant, which runs on the waste collected from hotels and restaurants located on the Fergusson College (FC) and Jungli Maharaj (JM) roads, has been set up on its premises.

The biogas plant is used by the employees of the ward office to make tea that is served to the staff and visitors. Initiated by the ward medical officer Dr Sanjeev Wavare, the biogas plant also helps the staff save money. “We no longer pay for chai. Instead we make it here,” said a ward official.

Wavare said the biogas plant can treat 15 kg of waste everyday. “The staff of the ward office collects the waste (left over food, vegetables) from the hotels and restaurants and then puts it straightaway in the funnel of the plant,” he said. An equal quantity of water is then added to the waste. “The output of 15 kg of waste is around 250 gm of biogas, which is sufficient for a family of five to prepare tea, breakfast and lunch,” said Wavare.

There are around 275 hotels and restaurants located on the FC and JM roads. “These hotels generate around 16 tonnes of waste every day,” he said, adding that the ward office has now been propagating others to set up biogas plants and use this waste to generate gas. “This initiative at the ward office was aimed at treating the waste at source,” he said.

On a daily basis, the ward office collects around 80 to 90 kg of hotel waste and with addition of vermiculture to the waste, manure is produced in eight days.  The design and specification of the biogas plant has been approved by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. “This is a small plant and the cost is just around Rs15,000,” he said.

After this successful venture, the ward office has also suggested the idea to city colleges. According to Wavare, the Shri Shivaji Preparatory Military School (SSPMS) has already set up a biogas plant with the help of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The cost of the one tonne capacity biogas plant is between Rs9 to Rs10 lakh, he said.

Similarly, the Symbiosis Institute on Senapati Bapat Road and Symbiosis Institute of Management at Vimannagar have set up biogas plants of one tonne each. The Dina Institute in Model Colony has set up a 50 kg biogas plant. “These institutes have large campuses and along with canteen/hotel wastes, they also generate biodegradable waste such as leaves and other waste material. This can produce quality manure,” he said.

A bio-gas plant of one tonne capacity can produce gas equivalent to nearly five domestic cylinders in a day. According to Wavare, there are around 37 biogas plants in the city.

School children have done it though. Following is a press coverage from The Times of India, Pune edition.

TOI/PUNE/19th Feb ‘09: In a bid to spread environmental awareness among students and citizens, 20 schools in Pimpri-Chinchwad will soon be engaged in environment monitoring. The schools will also monitor and make observations about weather on a regular basis.

The decision to involve schools in environmental awareness comes after resolutions were taken at the science congress which was organised last week by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Khagol Vishwa (an organisation for amateur astronomers) the Rotary Club and SNBP school. The theme of the event was ideal city environment’, and the organisers decided to undertake activities which would help create awareness about environment protection and weather changes.

According to Mayuresh Prabhune of Khagol Vishwa, the schools will monitor pollution of the Pavana river and undertake activities to stop pollution with the help of the municipal corporation and other social groups.

In order to monitor environmental pollution, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board has two monitoring stations, one in Pimpri-Chinchwad’s industrial area and the second in the residential area. Prabhune said that the MPCB would be requested to start more such centres.

The schools will also monitor weather conditions with the help of the India Meteorological Society. At present, the municipal corporation itself monitors the maximum and minimum temperatures and the rainfall. There is also a plan to form a science club which will undertake various activities. Information about the environment and the weather conditions will be collected and analysed, Prabhune said.

The science congress received an overwhelming response from students and citizens alike. Exhibitions, and lectures by eminent experts were organised during the four-day event.

[source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Pune/20-schools-to-take-up-environment-monitoring/articleshow/4152222.cms]

Trees on Varsity Campus Saved from Axe:

On another note, for the campus makeover of University of Pune, the road widening planhas been withdrawn to save trees being axed.

Read the complete coverage here.