Gulbarga varsity 'fuels' eco-friendly initiative

Thereby, not only reducing the dependency on petrol and diesel, but also contributing to environment-friendly fuel security.

The Biodiesel Technology Park, inaugurated on Wednesday here, is set up on a 100-acre land in the Jnana Ganga campus. The University is supported by the Hyderabad Karnataka Development Board (HKDB) and the Forest Department, the major supplier of biofuel plants for cultivation in the campus.

The university is entering into an MoU with the Bangalore-based  Biodiesel Society of India which will render strategic assistance and industry link in accordance with the Karnataka State Biofuel Policy 2009. Out of the 100 acres of land, biofuel plants will come up in 85 acres and medicinal plants in 15 acres.

The biodiesel technology park which would be developed on public private partnership basis, will have plantation of all the biofuel species such as Jatropha, Pongamia, Madhuca, Semarubia and Pterocarpus. Besides, provision for training in cultivation, post-harvest management, oil extraction, economics and marketing through workshops and skill development programmes will also be undertaken.

“By developing the park we have to demonstrate that production of biofuel is feasible and encourage farmers having barren and non-cultivable land to go for the cultivation of biofuel plants,’’ University Registrar Pratap Singh Tiwari said. The agriculture department will take up educational activities and the forest department will supply plants free of cost.

HKDB Secretary Shalini Rajneesh said that North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) will be the major consumer of biofuel produced in the region as biofuel is a substitute and requires a very little or no engine modification to motor vehicles up to 20 per cent blend and minor modification for higher percentage of blends.
She said, only non-edible biofuel plants will be taken up although it is quite possible to produce biofuel from the edible oil plant seeds.