These days,the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is invoking the gods in a bid to popularise clean,alternative sources of energy such as solar and biogas. It has embarked on an ambitious project to showcase the use of solar and biogas energy at places of religious and tourist interest so as to create publicity for renewable energy. The ministry is working with the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board to use mule dung40 tonne of which is collected every dayfor biogas to light up the route to the Vaishno Devi shrine. Apart from tackling the problem of disposal of such huge waste,our project provides cheap power for running computers and other small electric equipment. As of now,the small unit that we have installed uses just four tonnes of mule dung and produces over 2,200 units of electricity every day. At the same time,the dung is also converted into highly-effective manure that local,small farmers can use, says a senior officer of the ministry. As part of the project,a solar water heating plant,with a capacity of 5,000 litres a day,will be set up at Katra,the base camp for the 13-km-long pilgrimage to the shrine. Besides,a 5 KV solar photo voltaic power plant for running computers and mobile phone chargers will also come up. A brainchild of Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah,the Special Area Demonstration Project Scheme aims to install pilot projects at places that are visited by tourists and pilgrims.It is learnt that apart from Vaishno Devi,other places of religious interest where the ministry is setting up similar projects include the Golden Temple,Dargah Ajmer Sharif,Tirupati temple,Shanti Kunj at Haridwar,the headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris at Mount Abu and the Satya Sai Baba shrine at Shirdi. At Amritsars Golden Temple,after a recent meeting between Abdullah,Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and representatives of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC),it was decided that solar energy and biogas would be used for cooking as well as for lighting the sarovar. Our aim is to raise awareness levels and get ordinary people to take to alternative sources of energy. At the same time,we are also doing our bit to save environment, says Abdullah. Ministry officials say apart from religious places,similar projects will be set up in places that get a lot of footfalls,such as heritage buildings and forts.
