Nalitabari village emerges as biogas model

NALITABARI, SHERPUR, Nov 11: Around 50 families in Nanni Village of Nalitabari Upazila are now using biogas produced from cow dung and poultry waste, reducing their dependence on LPG cylinders and firewood.

With households keeping one to five cows, the village is gradually emerging as a model for biogas use, offering an alternative source of cooking fuel at a time when consumers across the country are struggling with rising gas costs.

According to the Department of Youth Development in Sherpur, Abul Kalam Azad, 45, of Nanni Dekrapara Village produces biogas from the dung of his six cows. 

The gas meets the cooking needs of two families. They have been using it for the past six months, saving around Tk 4,000 a month.

Nazrul Islam, a biogas user in the village, said the system was easy to operate and helped households save money. The slurry left after gas production is also used as organic fertiliser on farmland, he said.

Khokon Mia, a madrasa teacher from the same village, produces biogas from the dung of his three cows.

He said he and his wife both work, and cooking on a traditional wood-fired stove used to be time-consuming and inconvenient.

"We now get both milk and gas from our cows. Cooking takes much less time, and we no longer need to spend at least Tk 2,000 a month on LPG cylinders," he said.

The system saves his family around Tk 25,000 a year, he added, describing biogas as particularly suitable for rural households.

Locals said around 50 families in Nanni Union had adopted biogas after seeing its benefits in neighbouring households. Some families also use poultry waste to produce gas.

Md Abdullah Al Mansur, Assistant Sub-Assistant Engineer for biogas plants at the Department of Youth Development in Sherpur, said a household with three cows could collect 40-50kg of dung a day.

Around 22kg of dung can produce one kilogramme of gas, enough to meet the daily cooking needs of a family, he said, adding that biogas had become increasingly popular in the area.

Under the Department of Youth Development's Impact Project Phase-3, a total of 85 biogas plants are being installed in five upazilas of Sherpur. Of these, 30 have been installed in Nanni Union of Nalitabari.

The department is also considering declaring Nanni Union a "biogas village".

Md Harunur Rashid, Deputy Director of the Department of Youth Development in Sherpur, said the initiative was part of the government's development plans.