KR Market's biogas plant ready for generating power

Looks like the garbage woes in the KR Market will finally come to an end as the biomethanisation power plant installed in its premises is likely to be operational soon.

After flagging off the intensive cleaning drive at the market on Monday, Mayor B S Satyanarayana assured traders that the plant would be inaugurated within 20 days. He said that the plant has a capacity to process around five tonnes of segregated wet waste per day and is constructed by Pune-based Ashoka Biogreen Private Limited.

The mayor told Deccan Herald, “Though the agreement was signed between the Palike and the company more than a year ago, there were minor hiccups in the execution of the project, mainly due to the delay by the contractors.”

He said that once the agreement is signed, the Palike cannot replace the company. Hence, there was no option but to wait.

M R Venkatesh, BBMP Chief Engineer for Solid Waste Management, said, “The BBMP had signed the agreement on a Design, Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis, wherein the company will run the biogas plant for three years. The total cost of the plant, including maintenance expenditure, is Rs 1.02 crore. This is the first-of-its-kind plant in the City that will use the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) technology. It is located beside the dry waste collection centre in the market. Unlike other power plants, this will have two digesters – aerobic and anaerobic - solar panels and an air-compressor.”

According to Palike sources, 12 plants, including the one at KR Market, will be installed across the City and each will have a power generation capacity of 450 to 500 units per day. Work is afoot for the other plants, the sources said.

Vendors in the market are hoping that the project does not miss the deadline this time, like it did in October last year.

G M Diwakar, president, KR Market Flower Merchants’ Association, said that the market receives around 15 to 20 tonnes of dry and wet waste per day and Pourakarmikas have been deployed on contract basis to clean the premises.

“We are hoping that the biogas plant is functional soon,” he said.

Revamp project

On the KR Market revamp project, Satyanarayana said that the work will most probably start next week and discussions are being held in this regard. The weak structure near the old KR Market building will be demolished as per the directions by Palike Commissioner M Lakshminarayana, he said.