Jammu Massacre

Jammu Massacre

Introduction 

After the Partition of India, during October–November 1947 in the Jammu region of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, a large number of Muslims were massacred and others driven away to West Punjab. The killings were carried out by extremist Hindus and Sikhs, aided and abetted by the forces of the Dogra State headed by the Maharaja Hari Singh. The activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) played a key role in planning and executing the riots Observers state that a main aim of Hari Singh and his administration was to alter the demographics of the region by eliminating the Muslim population, in order to ensure a Hindu majority in the region. Historians say that the killings carried out by the Hindu ruler's army and Sikh army was a "state sponsored genocide" to bring out demographic changes in Jammu - a region which had an overwhelming population of Muslims.

"The massacre of more than two lakh (two hundred thousands) Muslims was state-sponsored and state supported. The forces from Patiala Punjab were called in, RSS (a right-wing Hindu organization) was brought to communalize the whole scenario and kill Muslims," said PG Rasool, the author of a book The Historical Reality of Kashmir Dispute.The Muslims, who constituted more than 60 percent of the population of Jammu region, were reduced to a minority after the killings and displacement. 

 The reporter of The Times, London, dated 10^th August, 1948, has reported: “2,37,000 Muslims were systematically exterminated — unless they escaped to Pakistan along the border — by the forces of the Dogra State headed by the Maharaja in person and aided by the Sikhs. This happened in October 1947, five days before the Pathan invasion and nine days before the Maharaja’s accession to India”. (Confirmed in UNSC, Meeting No. 534, March 6, 1951). Other reporters have put the number of massacred Muslims either less [2, 00,000, per Horace Alexander’s article in The Spectator, dated 16-01- 1948) or more ( 5,00,000 according to Ian Stephens, Making of Pakistan, New York, page 200 & 6,00,000 per Christopher Sneden, What happened to Muslims in Jammu, Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol.xxiv, no.2 (2000)]. Whatever the actual number of the victims of that barbaric savagery of Dogra Ruler let loose on his Muslim subjects, it is a fact that human killings by State sponsored genocide are “statistics” & mere not “numbers” as in usual killings.

Extracts

(Extracts   from “Being the Other: the Muslim in India”, Saeed Naqvi, Aleph Book Company).

What was the death toll in the killing fields of Jammu? There are no official figures, so one has to go by reports in the British press of that period. Horace Alexander’s article on 16 January 1948 in The Spectator is much quoted; he put the number killed at 200,000.

To quote a 10 August 1948 report published in The Times, London: “237,000 Muslims were systematically exterminated – unless they escaped to Pakistan along the border – by the forces of the Dogra State headed by the Maharaja in person and aided by Hindus and Sikhs. This happened in October 1947, five days before the Pathan invasion and nine days before the Maharaja’s accession to India.” Reportedly, as a result of the massacre/migration, Muslims who were a majority (61 per cent) in the Jammu region became a minority.

Mountbatten was in control in Delhi and had news of the genocide of Muslims in Jammu filtered out of the media. Sadly, there has been precious little discussion in India about this horrible phase of history.

Maharaja Hari Singh’s involvement, with the support of the RSS, is evident from a letter Jawaharlal Nehru wrote to Vallabhbhai Patel on 17 April 1949 (quoted in Frontline magazine):

In this (intelligence) report, among other things, a reference was made to a growing Hindu agitation in Jammu province for what is called a zonal plebiscite. This idea is based on the belief that a plebiscite for the whole of Kashmir is bound to be lost and, therefore, let us save Jammu at least. You will perhaps remember that some proposal of this kind was put forward by the Maharaja some months back. it seems to me that this kind of propaganda is very harmful, indeed, for us. Whatever may happen in the future, I do not think Jammu province is running away from us. If we want Jammu province by itself and are prepared to make a present of the rest of the State to Pakistan, I have no doubt we could clinch the issue in a few days. The prize we are fighting for is the valley of Kashmir. [This is what Nehru had dug in his heels for. The consequences are for all to see to this day.]

This propaganda for a zonal plebiscite is going on in Jammu, in Delhi and elsewhere. It is carried on by what is known as the Jammu Praja Parishad. Our intelligence officer reported that this Praja Parishad is financed by the Maharaja. Further, that the large sums collected for the Dharmarth Fund, which are controlled by the Maharaja, are being spent in propaganda for him.

The lid on these massacres was lifted by Ved Bhasin and a few journalists of that time. But like the collective silence over the pogrom in Hyderabad, the holocaust in Jammu has been a story hidden from public view by the machinations of the very people who covertly allowed the massacres to take place. These included many in the national leadership of the Congress party at the time. The events of Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir reveal the emergence in New Delhi of an establishment which was indifferent to Indian Muslims.

Consider the testimony of journalist Ved Bhasin. Here I am again quoting from his paper presented at the Jammu University in 2003.

Communal tension was building up in Jammu soon after the announcement of the Mountbatten plan with the Hindu Sabha, RSS and the Muslim Conference trying to incite communal passions. Tension increased with a large number of Hindus and Sikhs migrating to the State from Punjab and NWFP and even from areas now under Pakistan’s control. Trouble was brewing in Poonch, where a popular non-communal agitation was launched after the Maharaja’s administration took over the erstwhile jagir under its direct control and imposed some taxes. The mishandling of this agitation and use of brutal force by the Maharaja’s administration inflamed the passions, turning this non-communal struggle into a communal strife.

The Maharaja’s administration had not only asked all Muslims to surrender their arms but also demobilised a large number of Muslim soldiers in the Dogra army and the Muslim police officers, whose loyalty it suspected. The Maharaja’s visit to Bhimber was followed by large-scale killings.

Bhasin reports the large-scale killing of Muslims in Udhampur district, particularly in Udhampur proper, Chenani, Ramnagar and Reasi areas. Even in Bhaderwah (about 150 kilometres from Udhampur), a number of Muslims were victims of communal marauders. According to Bhasin, the RSS played a key role in these killings, aided by armed Sikh refugees “who even paraded the Jammu streets with their naked swords”. Some of those who led the riots in Udhampur and Bhaderwah later joined the National Conference and some even served as ministers. There were reports of Muslims massacred in Chhamb, Deva Batala, Manawsar and other parts of Akhnoor, with several of them fleeing to the other side or moving to Jammu. In Kathua district too there was the large-scale killing of Muslims and reports of women being raped and abducted.

As for the attitude of the state, Bhasin alleges that instead of preventing these communal killings and fostering an atmosphere of peace, “the Maharaja’s administration helped and even armed the communal marauders”. He goes on to say that many Muslims living outside Muslim-dominated areas were brutally killed by the rioters who moved freely in vehicles with arms and ammunition even when the city was officially under curfew. “The curfew it appeared was meant only to check the movement of Muslims,” he says.

Terrible carnage took place later when the Muslims in Talab Khatikan area were asked to surrender.

They were shifted to the police lines at Jogi gate, where now Delhi Public School is situated. Instead of providing them security, the administration encouraged them to go to Pakistan for safety. The first batch of several thousands of these Muslims were loaded in about sixty lorries to take them to Sialkot. Unaware of what is going to happen to them these families boarded the buses. The vehicles were escorted by troops. But when they reached near Chattha on Jammu-Sialkot road, in the outskirts of the city, a large number of armed RSS men and Sikh refugees were positioned there.

They were pulled out of the vehicles and killed mercilessly with the soldiers either joining [in] or looking [on] as idle spectators. The news about the massacre was kept a closely guarded secret. next day another batch of these Muslim families were similarly boarded in the vehicles and met the same fate. [T]hose who somehow managed to escape the wrath of killers reached Sialkot to narrate their tale of woe…

The state administration denied it had any role in the massacres. It even feigned ignorance of any plans to change the demography of the Jammu region. But Bhasin differs:

Though polite, he warned me of dire consequences…he first warned me by saying that “I could have put you behind bars for your nefarious activities. But since you also happen to be a Khatri like me and are also related to me, i am simply giving you advice. It is not the time to form peace committees and work for peace but to defend Hindus and Sikhs from the Muslim communalists who are planning to kill them and destabilise the situation. We have already formed a Hindu Sikh Defence Committee. You and your colleagues better support it.” Then he added, “We are imparting armed training to Hindu and Sikh boys in Rehari area. You and your colleagues should better join such training.” When i sent a colleague to the training camp the next day he found that some RSS youths and others were being given training in the use of .303 rifles by soldiers.

Another incident that I recall is about Mr Mehr Chand Mahajan (the then prime minister) who told a delegation of Hindus who met him in the palace when he arrived in Jammu that now when the power is being transferred to the people they should demand parity. [One] of them associated with National Conference asked how can they demand parity when there is so much difference in population ratio. Pointing to the Ramnagarrakh below, where some bodies of Muslims were still lying he said “the population ratio too can change”.

Mahatma Gandhi did comment on the situation in Jammu on 25 December 1947 and his remarks have found mention in volume 90 of his Collected Works: “The Hindus and Sikhs of Jammu and those who had gone there from outside killed Muslims. The Maharaja of Kashmir is responsible for what is happening there…Muslim women have been dishonored.”

Massacres

On 14 October, the RSS activists and the Akalis attacked various villages of Jammu district—Amrey, Cheak, Atmapur and Kochpura—and after killing some Muslims, looted their possessions and set their houses on fire. There was mass killing of Muslims in and around Jammu city. The state troops led the attacks. The state officials provided arms and ammunition to the rioters. The administration had demobilized a large number of Muslim soldiers in the state army and had discharged Muslim police officers.Most of the Muslims outside the Muslim dominated areas were killed by the communal rioters who moved in vehicles with arms and ammunition, though the city was officially put under curfew.Many Gujjar men and women who used to supply milk to the city from the surrounding villages were reportedly massacred en route. It is said that the Ramnagar reserve in Jammu was littered with the dead bodies of Gujjar men, women and children. In the Muslim localities of Jammu city, Talab Khatikan and Mohalla Ustad, Muslims were surrounded and were denied water supply and food. The Muslims in Talab Khatikan area had joined to defend themselves with the arms they could gather, who later received support from the Muslim Conference. They were eventually asked to surrender and the administration asked them to go to Pakistan for their safety. These Muslims and others who wanted to go to Sialkot, in thousands, were loaded in numerous trucks and were escorted by the troops in the first week of November. When they reached the outskirts of the city, they were pulled out and killed by armed Sikhs and RSS men, while abducting the women.

There were also reports of large-scale massacres of Muslims in Udhampur district, particularly in proper Udhampur, Chenani, Ramnagar, Bhaderwah and Reasi areas. Killing of a large number of Muslims was reported from Chhamb, Deva Batala, Manawsar and other parts of Akhnoor with many people fleeing to Pakistan or moving to Jammu. In Kathua district and Bilawar area, there was extensive killing of Muslims with women being raped and abducted.

According to Ved Bhasin and scholar Ilyas Chattha, the Jammu riots were executed by members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who were joined by the refugees from West Pakistan, and were supported strongly by Hari Singh and his administration with a main aim to change the demographic composition of Jammu region and ensure a non-Muslim majority. Bhasin states, the riots were "clearly" planned by the activists of RSS. Observers have noted that the Akali Sikhs and some former members of the Indian National Army (INA) also participated in this violence along with the RSS and state forces

Bhasin says that the massacres took place in the presence of the then Jammu and Kashmir's Prime Minister Mehr Chand Mahajan and the governor of Jammu, Lala Chet Ram Chopra, and that some of those who led these riots in Udhampur and Bhaderwah later joined the National Conference with some of them also serving as ministers. The decline in the Muslim population in Jammu can be gauged from the following.

Region	1941 Population	1941 Muslim proportion	2011 Muslim proportion	Loss of Muslims
Jammu District	431,362	39.6%	7.1%	151,010
Kathua District	177,672	25.3%	10.4%	29,567
Jammu province (exc. Poonch and Mirpur)	1,172,950	44.5%	27.9%	246,356

Integrated Energy Planning - Energy and Power System Planning in Pakistan.

Integrated Energy Planning - Energy and Power System Planning in Pakistan.

Integrated Energy Planning and Policy (IEP) addresses sector debt by focusing less on stopgap measures such as unconditional bailouts, and more on endemic causes such as system losses and operational inefficiencies. Overwhelming evidence points to the absence of coordinated policy as a fundamental issue.  Energy of course is central to development and the well being of the society.

. IEP has two essential components: analysis that feeds the decision-making process and a policy- level institutional structure to facilitate sound decision making. IEP addresses short, medium, and long-term issues. The short-term is vital.

 Pakistan has good long-term prospects, but to get there it needs to navigate the troublesome short term.IEP integrates energy subsector plans and policies to support national objectives. It provides a range of policy scenarios tested for their impact on the economy. Above all, however, effective implementation of IEP requires a separate energy ministry with overarching responsibility for the sector and access to top policy levels of adding noncommercial/alternative energy skills to the planning unit of the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan. Energy planning is fragmented, this has partly been addressed by formation of energy ministry, this, however, is in form only as a comprehensive plan has yet to be prepared. There are ongoing efforts to acquire tools for and revive integrated energy planning in Pakistan, this is imperative as without a comprehensive energy plan a optimized development of the energy sector is not possible and decision making is likely to result in costly mistakes and errors.

The following is recommended:  HDIP needs to be entrusted the additional responsibility of collecting non commercial energy data, for which they need to be provided with additional funds and trained manpower; henceforth energy plans should include non commercial energy; IEP modules be used for all forms of energy planning, energy sector decisions need to be verified by running the scenario on IEP models.

An integrated approach to energy sector planning and policy formulation is recommended.  Energy planning   is carried out and policies formulated largely on an ad hoc, crisis-driven, subsector basis. For instance, plans for the petroleum, electric power, or coal subsectors, and of other energy subsectors such as fuel wood and other renewable, are prepared largely independently of each other.  This has clearly being recognized in Pakistan where, finally, the government has established the Ministry of Energy  Even more harmful are the distortions introduced by preferential treatment accorded to commercial forms of energy over non-commercial energy, often with drastic consequences for the poor and, eventually, for the growth of the economy as a whole  In a nutshell, IEP harmonizes the policies and plans of the energy sector to meet national socioeconomic objectives, while ensuring close coordination and consistency between each of the energy subsectors. It is part and parcel of the overall economic planning process with which it is closely coordinated.

IEP develops a coherent set of energy policies in key areas such as: the energy requirements to fuel national growth while meeting environmental targets; the optimum mix of fuels; conservation measures; measures to diversify and increase energy security by reducing dependence on foreign sources; meeting the energy needs of the poor; saving foreign exchange; reducing the trade deficit; and raising sufficient revenues to finance continued sector development. Policymakers’ preoccupation with commercial energy as a vehicle for GDP growth and the consequent neglect of non-commercial energy has had a number of serious repercussions.

 Integrated Resource Planning (Power System Planning)

 Integrated resource plan is a roadmap that large utilities use to plan out generational acquisitions over five, 10, or 20 years (or more). Many utilities use integrated resource plans for coal, natural gas, and smart grid energy. IRPs examine foreseeable future resources with regard to transmission lines, substations, power plants, end users, and the utilities and operators responsible for taking care of the transmission and distribution of electricity.,

The IRP also addresses contributing factors that impact electricity supply and delivery, ranging from government regulations and expectations at both federal and state levels, to physical assets such as transmission lines or coal plants, to customer demand and other drivers.  .

 Utilities consider many criteria when creating the IRP. Common questions include:

·                     Will the customer base grow?

·                     What’s the demand?

·                     Do we have enough generation capability?

·                     What will we do in case of emergency, if a plant goes down, etc.?

Utilities invest a significant amount of time in putting integrated resource plans together. Depending on the state, they may create IRPs every other year, yearly, biannually, or even more frequently. Because of the research that goes into the energy planning process, IRPs   detail how utilities made their assumptions. Benefits of IRP re so great that frequently regulators/governments legislate or regulators make these a part of the rules of the game.. For a IRP process to be deemed successful it must include:  a meaningful stakeholders consultations; and oversight of the process by an agency responsible for utilities. . A successful IRP effort must include:

-                     A load forecast

-                     Resources and demand side management

-                     Supply options

-                     Fuel process

-                     Environmental costs and constraints

-                     Evaluation of existing resources

-                     Integrated analysis

-                     Time frame

-                     Uncertainty

-                     Valuing and selecting plans

-                     Action plan

-                     And documentation

With restructuring of the electric industry IRP rules in many areas were ignored, some areas have since then made an effort to update IRP rules making these a part of the new industry structure. IRP locates the lowest cost of at which a utility can deliver reliable energy services to all its customers  ISP differs from traditional tools in so far as it as capable of fairly evaluating and comparing the costs and benefits of both demand and supply side options. The result is an opportunity to achieve lower overall costs and maximize benefits of both supply and demand side options. In particular the inclusion of demand side options presents more possibilities of saving fuel and reducing negative environmental impacts that might be possible if only supply side options were considered. IRP results in lower costs IRP plans have horizon years of 10 -20 years and updates are required every 2-5 years.

IRPs are important for three reasons:

1. Utilities are making huge, multimillion-dollar investments in energy. They want to—and must—do their due diligence to ensure that their investments make sense and will be profitable. An integrated resource plan helps “prove” the value of an investment not only to the utility but also local and state governments, private backers, and the public.

2. An integrated resource plan provides transparency to consumers. It shows if a company is investing in green technology, fossil fuels, etc., and gives the public a way to comment on the strategy.

3. For interested vendors and companies, an integrated resource plan is an excellent way to identify relevant partnership opportunities. When an IRP is published, companies can review it to see what potential projects will be coming their way, identify projects they might like to become involved with, and more.

 Conclusions

Traditional planning suffered from the drawback that it was not comprehensive and did not include all aspects of the issues. With market liberalization it was (falsely) deemed that there is no need for any planning at the State of government level, the market would provide indicators and would drive investment accordingly. This was very soon proven incorrect. States, Regulators, Governments then mandated the preparation of short, medium and long term plans. The Integrated Energy and power planning resulted in better coordination. The integrated planning approach encompassed both supply and demand side issues and developed the interdependence of various factors on other factors. Errors made by decision making in the isolated mode are avoided.This coordination results in avoidance of error made when decisions are taken in an isolated mode.  

Requiem for a fellow walker

Requiem for a fellow walker

May 4, 2012 at 11:43 AM

Requiem for a fellow walker

I have a long maintained habit of walking very early in the morning, for various reasons this very early walk is very satisfying for me. I walk so early that for the most part of the year my walk is only occasionally shared by watchmen and few animals, like dogs and very few cats. Only in the peak summer time when the time for prayers is close to my walking time do I encounter other residents. For last some years I have had fleeting encounters with a porcupine (possibly hystrix indica, as this is the most common one found in these parts). These were very brief encounters. I usually came upon the porcupine foraging in the garbage and hearing my footsteps the porcupine would swiftly run away, so swiftly in fact that I for long did not even know what creature this was; I initially thought it was a large lizard. One day I was able to identify the creature it was a full grown porcupine with large multi colored quails.

For last many months I continued, occasionally, see fleeting images of my fellow occupant of the raid, I was surprised as to how the porcupine survived in this urban, organized jungle, the area I live in is developed with houses constructed since long. My fellow walker was always alone I do not know if porcupines moved in pars if he had a wife I did not meet her. Those encounters continued for long time and my friend had respect for me and would shy away at the sound of my footsteps. I was more curious and did want to see the porcupine but was always never able to do.  We had developed a strategy of mutual survival. The porcupine was more prudent and kept a safe distance away from me.  Man and creature had developed boundaries which ensured mutual well being.

Two days ago I saw a heap on the road, I was a little cautious but coming near to the heap I was shocked as it was my friend the porcupine who lay there , crushed by a car , blood had oozed out and the porcupine lay dead, the magnificent quails were lying all over the place . Seems that the mutual boundaries we had worked out did not include safety mechanisms for the technological developments that my kind had made and which resulted in my kind to achieve speeds which the usually prudent and careful porcupine could not match. It failed to evade the car, which may have been speeding and unaware of the death the car had caused. Another victim of technology I would say. Seems that we are bent of destruction of all other life only life that thrives is what is useful to us, like chickens, cows, horses etc., or life which has evolved mechanisms to outwit us.

Dead dogs and cats are common but I am not sure why but the death of the magnificent porcupine saddened me. Good bye friend. To me it seemed that in our zeal for development and progress we have forgotten how to coexist with other creations and also failed o provide for these creations in the urban jungles we are creating.

Biogas utilization in Pakistan

Biogas utilization in Pakistan

Introduction:

Biogas plant is name often given to an anaerobic digester that treats farm or organic wastes. The history of biogas plants goes back to ancient Persia and China. It was observed that rotting vegetables produce flammable gas. In 13th century the Chinese were using covered sewage tanks to generate power. In 1859 first biogas plant was built to process sewage at a Bombay in Indian Sub Continent. The biogas plants can be fed with energy crops such as maize silage or biodegradable wastes including sewage sludge and food waste. During the process the biomass is converted into methane producing renewable energy that is used for heating, electricity and many other operations that use any variation of an internal combustion engines.

Typical composition of biogas:(Compound Chemical Formula %age)

• Methane CH4                50–75
• Carbon dioxide CO2    25–50
• Nitrogen N2                   0–10
• Hydrogen H2                 0–1
• Hydrogen sulfide H2S 0–3
• Oxygen O2                     0–0

Biogas gas is also being used in power generators for electricity production around the world as renewable fuel source. Leo Corporation Pakistan has successfully installed biogas plants to produce electricity using different bio degradable materials in Punjab

In China 30 million rural households that have biogas digesters enjoy the following benefits:

•  Saving fossil fuels
•  Saving time collecting firewood
•  Protecting forests
•  Using crop residues for animal fodder instead of fuel
•  Saving money
•  Saving cooking time
•  Improving hygienic conditions
•  Producing high-quality fertilizer
•  Enabling local mechanization and electricity production
•  Improving the rural standard of living

Pakistan is home to over 160 million head of cattle (buffalo, cow, camel, donkey, goat and lamb). The dung of these livestock can feed five million biogas plants of varying sizes, according to energy experts at the National University of Science and Technology (Islamabad) and Faisalabad Agriculture University This can help plug the yawning gas supply gap. According to government figures, 73 percent of 200 million people (a majority of them in rural areas) have no access to piped natural gas. Such people rely on LPG gas cylinders and fuel wood.  

As per recent livestock census, there are 51 million animals (Buffaloes, Cows, and Bullocks) in Pakistan. Thus, 19.125 Million M3 biogas can be produced daily by anaerobic fermentation of dung through installation of about 3.825 million family size biogas plants, which could meet the cooking needs of about 50 million people. The total population of Pakistan is about 170 million, out of which 68% reside in the rural areas, which comes to be 98 million. Therefore we can meet the cooking / heating requirements of 44% rural masses from this single source of energy (biogas) besides, producing 57.4 million Kg of nitrogen enriched bio-fertilizer per day or 21.00 million tons of bio-fertilizer per year, which is an essential requirement for sustaining the fertility of agricultural lands.

Biogas   potential in Pakistan is widely distributed; its potential may be best developed at the point of generation. However, there are many point sources where large-scale biogas can be generated at one location. The most ready example is Landhi’s Cattle colony, where a 20 MW power project of biogas has been formulated.  There does not seem to be much progress on this plant. There could be several large projects of this size elsewhere in the country as well. Biogas need not be a monopoly of electric power producers; gas companies can and should enter this arena of biogas as well. In fact, they ought to be the primary players. Biogas can be upgraded to pipeline-quality gas.

Policy:

Pakistan has made a policy to add RSE (Renewable & Sustainable Energy) for energy production; Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has been established to contribute 5% energy production from renewable. AEDB is now working on energy production project by using huge resource of biogas near Karachi in Landhi cattle colony to produce 30 MW which is being funded by New Zealand.( New Zealand based firm has completed the pilot phase of the biogas project at Landi Cattle Colony, Karachi where waste from 400,000 cattle in the area would be utilized to generate electricity and high grade organic fertilizer. The full scale plant is estimated to generate up to 50 MW of electricity and 1500 tons of organic fertilizer per day.). , framework for power Co-generation 2013 (Biomass/Bagasse) was approved by Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for bagasse/biomass based sugar industry projects. 1500–2000 MW of power is expected to be generated in next 2–3 years   

History:

Government of Pakistan undertook propagation of Biogas Technology early in 1976. Initially, 1200 family size units were installed.  The biogas digesters adapted at that time were known as Indian style digesters. This style is constant pressure type. A deep rounded well is dug in the ground and lined with bricks and cement. A round steel drum is turned upside down and fitted as a lid on the mouth of the well.  Gas is collected in this drum. Gases lift the drum up and after they are used, drum moves downward.  This program could not attract attention mainly because life of the drum was low and daily filling of cow dung was a hassle. Discovery of natural gas was also a hurdle in the promotion of biogas as it was easy and hassle free to use.  Government of Pakistan established Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET) which launched another project for installation of 2,500 biogas plants in 2007 with a subsidy component of Rs.17000/- per plant. In two years, despite various financial constraints, about 2,000 biogas units have been installed.   a major drawback in the Indian digesters was the steel drum. Presence of H2S in the produce cracks it within two or three years. Replacement of steel drums is a cost which is difficult to bear just like the cost of batteries in the small off-grid solar solutions.  Its installation also requires high expertise of craftsmanship. It costs round 13-15 thousands rupees per cubic meter. 10, 12, 15 and 20 m3   sizes are commonly used.   High initial cost and high operational cost is the barrier in the adaptation of the Indian style digesters.

In 2010, Rural Support Program Network (RSPN) initiated Pakistan Domestic Biogas Program. This program aimed to develop the domestic biogas sector   the project was designed to put down a robust foundation for the establishment of a commercially viable domestic biogas sector. The proposal used a time horizon of four years to strengthen the commercial biogas sector. Although the project aimed to promote an approach in which government, non-government and private sector organizations assumed their roles in a complementary fashion that intrinsically fit their character; this did not catch eyes of the masses. Only 5000 dome type digesters were constructed in addition to training about 500 local masons.
Dome type digesters are made of bricks and cement and involve fixed volume principle. No drum is used as a lid in this technology. Cost of such digesters range from 8 to 10 thousands rupees per cubic meter which is cheaper than Indian style digesters. However these digesters also require highly skilled craftsmanship and are built in 20-25 days. Common designs are in 6, 8, 10, 15 and 20 cubic meters. Leakage and seepage are frequently encountered problems but can be corrected with good maintenance and training. However once the digester leaks or seeps, it is difficult to be rectified.
Punjab has also launched a program to subsidize 20000 biogas plants of 30, 50 and 70 cubic meter for the farmers to supplement their diesel engines for water pumps. The design submitted by the consultant is of both Indian and dome type digesters.  The cost for system installation is 12-14 thousand rupees per cubic meter which is quite high. The construction time is around 25-30 days per team for one  

Assessment:
High cost, time consuming construction activities and requirement of high quality craftsmanship are major barriers in the adaptation of dome type digesters.  Stakeholders are enmeshed in a supply and demand context in which the supply side should ensure “off-the-shelf availability” of the technology while the pluralistic demand side organizes the beneficiaries, provides microfinance, promotes the technology and integrates it into rural development activities. For this purpose, many Chinese companies have established a soft type digester.  A tank is dug in the ground as per desired dimensions according to size of the digester. Construction of tank does not require skilled workmanship and even a normal mason can accomplish the task. The soft type digester can then be fixed in the tank. This installation takes only four days for tank and two hours for digester fixation. The cost is 5-6 thousand rupees per cubic meter. A Chinese company has installed many demonstration digesters in Pakistan A Chinese company has also decided to establish an office in Lahore

National Rural Support Program-Pakistan (NRSP-Pakistan) Initiated in 2009 by the non-governmental organization, PBDP was financed by the Netherlands Embassy in Pakistan and technical support was extended by Winrock International and SNV (Netherlands-based nongovernmental development organisations). As a part of sustainability of the biogas program, 50 local biogas construction companies were been set up. International technical experts trained nearly 450 people in construction, maintenance and repair of the biogas units. The biogas program aimed to establish a commercially viable biogas sector. To that extent, the main actors at the supply side of the sector are private Biogas Construction Enterprises (BCEs) providing biogas construction and after sales services to households. At the demand side of the sector, Rural Support Program organized under the RSPN will be the main implementing partners, but will also include NGOs, farmers’ organizations and dairy organizations. 5,600 biogas plants are now saving nearly 13,000 tons of fuel wood burning worth two million dollars and 169,600 liters of kerosene oil for night lamp use Implemented at a total cost of around 3.3 million dollars, the biogas plants have helped reduce the average three to four hours a woman spent collecting fuel-wood and cooking daily. These women now get enough time for socialization, economic activity and health is returning to households thanks to the biogas plants… which provide instant gas for cooking, healing and dishwashing ,.more significantly, the program   is helping avoid nearly 16,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually 

UNDP assisted (2012) a non-governmental organization to set up 150 biogas plants under a project funded by the United Nations Development Program and the Japanese government for the rehabilitation of the people affected by 2010 floods. Families supplied biogases earlier were spending between Rs5000 and Rs6000 on buying and transporting wood every month to their homes.  They also experienced improvement in crop productivity with the use of slurry, a by-product of biogas. The slurry had replaced urea to a great extent as it is comparatively much cheaper and a lot more beneficial in terms of crop productivity. It not only helped improve the quality of crop, but also reduced its harvesting period. A total of 27 biogas units had been installed in the village. One beneficiary stated “Earlier, we used at least three to four bags of urea for one acre of crop that could either be banana, wheat or sorghum. The price of urea has increased but a few months ago it cost Rs1,700 a bag. So you can well imagine how much we are benefiting even from the by-product of biogas,” said a beneficiary, adding that banana plants grown with the help of slurry had matured 10 to 15 days earlier as compared to those given urea

Tube Well Conversion to biogas:

Punjab government had designed a plan to convert about 100,000 agriculture tube wells from diesel to biogas in five years (2013 -2018) in a bid to save energy resources and promote biogas technology in the province. According to agriculture census 1.1 million tube wells are installed across the province for irrigation, 900,000 of them are run on diesel. On the other hand 32 million cows and buffaloes are owned by small and big farmers in the province which producing 117 million tons of dung annually. If half of this amount is used to produce gas then the waste will produce 2.93 billion cubic meters of gas annually. With this plan the Government hopes to save 288 million liters of diesel and 30 billion Rs ($ 280 mil.) annually. According to officials work on the project would start next year, and the provincial government will bear 50% of the conversion costs, inviting expressions of interest from interested companies, while leaving it to the farmers to select the company and pay directly to the technology provider. Moreover biogas plants installed with tube wells will help produce organic manure rich in nutrients, which will save the money spent on fertilizers.

WWF

World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) had achieved the target of setting up 2,000 biogas units in 13 districts of Punjab, Sindh and KP.“The purpose was to help improve lives shattered by the floods in a way that is not only sustainable but also eco-friendly. We have provided one biogas unit to one household as our experience has shown that the involvement of multiple families could create conflict and result in project’s failure.”The biogas unit could be run by a family even if it has only one buffalo. One unit of an average size of six to 15 cubic meters costs from Rs70,000 to Rs80,000 further one bag of dried slurry replaced nine bags of urea Local people were involved in its construction so that they could handle any problem in repair later    A few people in villages in Punjab were running generators on biogas after making changes in its design on a self-help basis,” 

Proposed plants:

Letter of intent was issued for 12 MW power plants established for utilization of agricultural wastes in Jhang and 9 MW plant is going to be installed at Pak Ethanol Pvt. Ltd., Sindh. In coming years 5000 biogas units will be installed all over the country by Pakistan Counsel of Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET). Government has invested 356 million to import 1400 biogas plants  Biomass/ Waste-to-Energy Following Biomass/Waste-to-Energy projects are in various stages of implementation under IPP mode: M/s SSJD (12 MW) Sind. M/s Lumen Energia (12 MW Shahkot).Punjab M/s Biomass Power Generation Limited (12 MW), Faisalabad M/s Green Sure Environmental Solutions (12 MW), Mardan, KPK

Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy at NUST (CAS-EN) is working on project entitled; “Biomass Resource Availability Study” funded by International Finance Corporation a subsidiary of World Bank Group (IFC-WBG) 

Government of Pakistan has asked PCRET to launch mega project on the biogas technology by installing 25,000 biogas units all over the country to not only cater the needs of cooking but also for agriculture and commercial purpose in order to meet the shortage of gas and electricity in the country. The project is still under evaluation and appraisal 

Conclusions:

Biogas intervention strategies, guidelines and facilities for the supply and use of anaerobic biogas digesters, in rural communities for producing cooking gas and organic fertilizer need to b devised through public and international financing and technical assistance.

Biomass has been used as an energy source for thousands of years by the humankind. Traditional fuels like firewood, dung and crop residues currently contribute a major share in meeting the everyday energy requirements of rural and low-income urban households in Pakistan. An average biomass using household consumes 2325 kg of firewood or 1480 kg of dung or 1160 kg of crop residues per annum. There are good prospects for using biogas energy in rural areas through a network of community biogas plants