A report on budget report

A fairly detailed half page report on the Finance Minister's budget report was published by a local English daily on July 8 last. It presented to parliament, a fairly detailed roundup of our national financial picture of Bangladesh. This writer not being a financial person, cannot comment on financial matters. But on the important energy issue, the writer wants to mention two very crucial and overwhelming issues that can play a vital role for augmenting our local fuel resources. If this is mobilised by our government, it can provide precious fuel resources for an indefinite period. The first one is the common solid household and kitchen vegetable and meat dressing (etc.) that is usually thrown in the dustbin, and collected and dumped ultimately on the dumping ground by municipal authorities, where it is levelled down and subsequently becomes potential land for house building. Such filled up land is however dangerous for house building.
The second potential fuel source is solid human waste that can be easily processed to produce Methane, an important fuel gas (same as our natural gas) with very little investment. Now it is processed and chemically treated in Dhaka and a few other cities. In Dhaka, WASA does it to eliminate all germs and other microbiological infectious residues that could be a potential threat to our health. Hopefully this is properly done, with correct quality control methods. Otherwise, people living downstream and using the river water for washing or bathing are potentially vulnerable to such infectious diseases. Serious errors of omission or commission in this matter could lead to infectious diseases being spread by downstream river water users. This too adds to costs for the treatment plant, chemicals and pumping needed to fill in the inputs in the treatment basin, and pumping out treated sewage back to the rivers, all of which consumes a lot of electricity too.
The writer of the report has totally ignored these potentially simple naturally and perpetually available valuable energy resources that can benefit us for all time to come. It can replace our large dependence on imported fuel for power generation that is essential for our overall progress. It is regretted that people in proper positions in the government have not at all considered this important potential raw materials of energy, which are now being totally wasted. It was only a few days back that initiatives were being taken to look into the matter of possibly utilizing solid municipal waste and to convert it as fuel. It may be a little late but as the saying goes: it is at least better late than never.

Engr.S.A.Mansoor
sam@dhakacom.com