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Ever since Uttar Pradesh’s new Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath has come to power, cows have become more sacred than ever in the nation. Now, you may agree or disagree with the beef ban and other policies on ‘the animal’ by the government, but you’ll certainly love this new bus that runs on fuel made with cow dung.
Phoenix India Research and Development Group, a Kolkata-based company, has designed and started a bus service that will take you up to 17.5 Km for just ₹1. No kidding!
The bus, which is probably India’s cheapest means of transport, was flagged off on Friday to run between Kolkata’s Ultadanga and Garia neighbourhoods. 15 more such buses are planned to be launched on different routes in the city, this year.
If you’re thinking how’s travelling on this bus is so cheap, the answer is the fuel used. The 55-seater bus runs on compressed Biogas, produced from cow dung.
Biogas is a renewable source of energy and is produced by breaking down organic matter like manure and agricultural waste in the absence of Oxygen inside a closed system called a ‘biogas plant’. The gas produced can then be compressed (just like CNG) to run motor vehicles.
Phoenix India has partnered with automobile giant Ashok Leyland to manufacture the bus at an approximate cost of ₹13 Lakhs.
Jyoti Prakash Das, Chairman and Managing Director of Phoenix India, explained the economics behind the cheap fare structure,
“The biogas we produce costs Rs 20 a kg. The bus can run 5 km on one kg now.”
The company is planning to source a technology from Germany that will make the travel even more economical.
“German technology will enable the vehicle to run 20 km on the same amount of fuel. The tank can hold 80 kg gas, and therefore, the vehicle can run 1,600 km on a full tank. That’s why the fare is so cheap.”
Salaries of the drivers and the helping staff will be paid from the earnings through advertisements that will be displayed on the bus.
The company has also been permitted to set up 100 fuel pumps, the first of which will be set up at Ultadanga. Also, running on bio-fuel means the commercial life of the vehicles will have no limit. Explaining the concept, Das said,
Use of alternative fuel like cow dung will have multifarious advantages. Cow-owners can earn good money selling the waste products, illegal slaughter of cows will cease, harmful vehicular emissions will no longer deteriorate the environment and most importantly, travel will be cheap AF! If this isn’t a win-win, I don’t know what is.
Let’s hope other cities and states also catch-up on the technology soon.
News Source: Hindustan Times
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