A total of 30,000 biogas plants have so far been installed in rural areas in the country as an alternative source of energy to reduce the use of firewood. People are using biogas for cooking, lighting and generation of electricity while residues from the plants utilised as organic fertiliser for crop production. "The plants use cow dung, poultry droppings, waste hyacinth and other biomass waste to produce biogas which ensure a smoke-free, odor-free, clean and healthy cooking environment for rural women," Dr MA Rouf of Institute of Fuel Research and Development (IFRD) of Bangladesh Council of Scientific Industrial Research (BCSIR) told BSS yesterday. The biogas plants are being used for cooking like natural gas, lighting rooms with mantel of hazak light, generating electricity for power appliances like light, fan, television and radio and it also can be converted into mechanical power for pumping irrigation water, he said. The initiatives of construction of biogas plants was undertaken as an alternative to the energy produced from firewood, the cutting and burning of which is harmful for the environment, Dr Rouf said. Out of the total plants, 22,000 were constructed by IFRD of BCSIR in last 10 to 12 years, he said. Apart from BCSIR, 25 organisations including, Grameen Shakti, Brac, DANIDA, Local Government Engineering Department, Department of Environment, Bangladesh Agriculture University, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation, and Department of Livestock Service are involved in the development of biogas technology. Among the organisations, Grameen Shakti shares more than 60 percent of biogas plants being constructed in the country. "So far, we have installed 4,500 plants and set a target to construct 5,00,000 plants across the country by 2012," head of International Cooperation and Development Department of Grameen Shakti Dr MS Islam said. The introduction of biogas has reduced the timing the rural women spend on cooking and in turn allowed them engaging in other productive pursuits, he said. A three cubic meter biogas plant is capable of producing sufficient gas for cooking three meals a day for a family of six to eight members. The owners of these biogas plants, after meeting their own requirements, sell extra gas to nearby families, restaurant, tea stalls and bakeries, Dr Islam said.