Kolkata, Oct 2 (IANS) As part of its ongoing Swachhata campaign and to mark Gandhi Jayanti, Eastern Railway (ER) inaugurated a biogas plant under the Sealdah Division on Friday. The day is also observed as Swachh Bharat Diwas.
The plant will not only be a source of green, non-polluting fuel, but will also help in the disposal of organic waste generated at railway establishments.
The biogas plant was inaugurated by ER General Manager Gitika Pandey at the Narkeldanga barracks of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).
Officials described it as a significant milestone towards a cleaner and greener future.
The plant has been built at an estimated railway-funded project cost of nearly Rs 25 lakh and underscores ER’s commitment under its Environment & Housekeeping Management initiative to transform organic waste into clean cooking energy for a sustainable future.
The project is designed to process 250 kg of organic waste every day and generate about 8-10 m³ of methane-rich biogas daily.
The plant will source segregated vegetable and food waste as feedstock directly from Sealdah station, the Sealdah railway colony at Narkeldanga, and B.R. Singh Hospital.
“The facility operates through a structured five-step mechanism,” an official said.
He explained that the process starts with waste collection, followed by shredding, where the machine breaks waste into fine particles for faster and more complete digestion. The waste then undergoes aerobic and anaerobic digestion in a two-chamber digester tank before passing through filtration and smart metering protected by a relief valve. Finally, a booster pump increases gas pressure before deployment.
According to the official, the plant has the capacity to generate the equivalent of about 90-110 domestic cylinders annually.
The fuel will be piped to the kitchen of the barracks.
“The nutrient-rich slurry by-product, which could amount to 73 tonnes per year, will nourish local plantations as organic manure, thereby reducing the use of chemical fertilisers,” the official added.
He said this would lead to lower carbon dioxide emissions and prevent the open dumping of methane through a transparent, smart-meter-monitored circular-economy model that can be replicated across other stations and colonies.
The Liluah Workshop of ER also has a biogas plant.
More such plants will come up at other locations.
Shibram Majhi, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), ER, said the biogas plant reflects the railway zone’s strong commitment to waste-to-energy solutions and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
–IANS
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