Karnali's first and only big biogas plant produces energy and organic fertilizer

By Sur Bahadur Singh, Karnali, June 29: A biogas plant has been set up in Birendranagar of Surkhet district to produce clean energy and organic fertilizer from biodegradable waste.

The KP Commercial Pvt Ltd is the first and the only industry related to environmental sanitation and hygiene in the Karnali Province. Krishna Prasad Dhakal, a local entrepreneur from Surkhet, established the biogas plant at an investment of Rs 140 million. The biogas plant of 3,000 cubic meters capacity can process 30 tonnes of waste at its full capacity.

At present, some 9 tonnes of organize nature, 15,000 litre liquid manure and  720 kg compressed natural gas (CNG) are being produced by the biogas plant for which the federal government and provincial government provided Rs 50 million and Rs 17.2 million respectively.

The usage of biogas plants which is based on German technology has contributed to environment protection and minimization of the impact of climate change and job creation thereby aiding in obtaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said proprietor Dhakal.

He, however, lamented that the organic fertilizers and liquid fertilizers produced from the biogas are accumulated in big quantities due to the lack of a proper market.

Much to the dismay, the fertilizers also do not fetch handsome prices either, bemoaned Dhakal. Organic fertilizer is sold at Rs 30 per kg while liquid fertilizer is sold at Rs 10 or Rs 12 per litre.

He has not used LPG gas cylinders for cooking for so long since he uses biogas for the same purpose. According to him, he has set up biogas plants in over 4,000 houses so far.

The biogas enterprise he is running has generated jobs for 17 people, said Dhakal who studied biogas in Thailand, Cambodia, Germany and India among others.

He claimed that his biogas enterprise has contributed to the Karnali Province's government campaign to build an organic Karnali Province. (RSS)