Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Why On Earth is This Not Being Implemented in Chennai?

For the past thirty years at least, as I can recall, the British have sent technology and money to help clean up the Cooum River / Buckingham canal in Chennai, but nothing has happened. Where has the money gone? Those in the Tamilnadu State government know, if someone does. And the two outlets, once navigable canals in which boats went all the way to Chingleput, become filthier by the day with more and more sewage pumped into them. The Adyar River, on whose banks much of the Chennai elite lives along Boat Club Road and Archbishop Mathias Avenue, is yet another example of a water body that was once clean turned into a filthy cess carrying canal by the State government.

Dr Mayraj Fahim, who has been a strong supporter of this blog, has sent me a very interesting link which has implications for Chennai: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1193169/Human-waste-heat-thousands-homes-4m-plan-recycle-gas.html British utilities already send sewage derived gas to generate power, and they now plan to offer the same gas for use in domestic kitchens etc. How difficult would it be for the Government of India and the Tamilnadu State government to revive the old British initiative and get the relevant technology from the UK to implement large-scale projects along these outlets? The raw material is there, and, it is not going to diminish in quantity as long as Chennai-vasis eat and then clear their stomachs out. There is an old initiative where the British have offered support - perhaps, the state could look at creating a utility under the common administration of the Water and Electricity Boards to use gas to generate electricity for the city? Or, alternately, as there are many gas powered cars running in the city, use this to supplement gas supplies for fueling vehicles and save foreign exchange?

Is anyone listening? Our Prime Minister who is supposed to turn the country into a new superopwer, perhaps? Or the Chief Minister whose wisdom is always hailed by his followers? Anyone? United Utilities, the British business involved in this project, has a nice website: http://www.unitedutilities.com/ Over to India . . .

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