Cow dung fulfils fuel demand in Gaibandha

GAIBANDHA, May 04: Cow dung is fulfilling fuel demand as alternative to gas and firewood in Gaibandha.

Chalk is made by smearing cow dung on thin bamboo sticks and then dried in the sun. The cow dung chalk can be used as fuel throughout the year.

The housewives of the northern district have been seen making this chalk by visiting different villages of seven upazilas of the district.

Also, small handfuls of cow dung are made by mixing bran with cow dung and drying them in the sun. And the sticks are smeared with dung and the raw wood is kept in the sun in the yard to dry.

If there is heat from the sun, the wood will dry within three to four days. The dry wood made in this way is stored.

Once upon a time, villagers used to collect the leaves of various forest trees to meet their fuel needs for cooking.

As the number of trees is decreasing day by day, there is a shortage of firewood. Also, the people living in the village have to face problems due to the increase in the price of firewood in the market.

And, it is not possible for everyone to buy cylinder gas and use it. To get rid of this crisis, the housewives of the village are turning to chalk made from dung.

Some housewives, including Mamota Begum of Khamar Jamira village of Manoharpur Union of Palashbari Upazila, said the price of cylinder gas is increasing in the market now.

"The middle-class people use wood or cylinder gas for cooking but it is beyond the reach of the lower class people. So, we rely on cow dung as fuel for cooking. We have been doing all kinds of cooking with cow dung chalk and lumps for many years."

Prabhat Kumar Sarkar, advocate of Gaibandha District Judge Court, said that making firewood from cow dung is fine for common people in remote rural areas who have no source of alternative fuel.

On the other hand, those who can afford to use alternative fuel other than cow dung wood. If they use cow dung in agriculture, the fertility of the land will increase.

Gaibandha District Animal Resource Officer Dr Mahfuzar Rahman said although the demand for chalk or lumps made from cow dung is fulfilled as human fuel, farmers are deprived of organic fertilisers.

"If we think about fuel, people get economical with it. But if it is used as biogas, it will get as fuel and also as fertiliser."

Deputy Director of Gaibandha District Agriculture Extension Department Md Khorshed Alam said if cow dung falls on the ground, the soil fertility will increase. The more organic fertilisers are added to the soil, the better the soil will be.

"If we could take cow dung into the soil, less chemical fertilisers would be needed. The money spent on chemical fertilisers would also be reduced. And it would be beneficial to the environment.