Delhi Gurdwaras to go green with biogas plants

In a major green initiative, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has decided to set up biogas plants in all 10 gurdwara complexes in Delhi to fire up their kitchen stoves from clean energy.

DSGMC said the move will also help address the problem of waste disposal as kitchen waste, vegetables, fruits peels and leftover langar food will be converted into clean fuel on a daily basis in these biogas plants.

"At present, DSGMC procures Piped Natural Gas (PNG) from IGL for cooking langars in all 10 historic gurdwaras in Delhi. The move to go for biogas plants is aimed at reducing carbon footprints, cutting fuel cost and making the religious shrine environment friendly," said DSGMC president Sardar Manjit Singh G.K.

To begin with, biogas plants will be set up at Delhi's Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Bangla Sahib that generate largest biodegradable waste among all historic gurdwaras in the national capital, the DSGMC members said. The community kitchen in these gurdwaras serve food to around 30,000 visiting devotees every day.

Each biogas plant will have the capacity to manage four quintal of leftover food, vegetables, rotten fruits and kitchen waste on a daily basis. These plants at both the gurdwaras are expected to be operational by October 2018.

"The project will be a major initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission and it will go a long way in solving the problems of chocked drains and making gurdwara complexes garbage free," said Sardar Manjit Singh G.K.

"The community kitchens of all historic Delhi gurdwaras will be shifted to biofuel by the end of 2019 in a phased manner," said Sardar Harjit Singh G.K. who heading the renewal energy wing of DSGMC. He added that the major advantage of the plant is that the system of garbage handling will improve and waste segregation norms laid down by New Delhi Municipal Corporation will be followed.

The move comes days after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in Amritsar announced its decision to set up a biogas plant at the Golden Temple kitchen that caters to a huge volume of devotees every day.