The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Working towards eliminating air pollution in kitchens

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Thursday, Jul 10, 2008
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Karnataka

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Working towards eliminating air pollution in kitchens

Staff Reporter

Clean-burning biomass cooking stoves launched

Biomass cooking stove

Bangalore: It should come as no surprise that the World Health Organisation has found that pollution levels in rural Indian kitchens are 30 times higher than recommended levels.

After all, the smoke from biomass (wood, crop waste and animal dung) used for cooking, in the closed confines of the home, creates a dangerous environment — one that claims five lakh lives in India every year.

Now to address the harmful impact of indoor air pollution in India, Envirofit, a non-profit corporation, has launched a range of clean-burning biomass cooking stoves.

Emissions reduced

The stoves, designed by an international team of scientists and engineers, reduce toxic emissions by 80 per cent, while using 50 per cent less fuel and reducing the cooking cycle time by 40 per cent.

Primary fuel

“Biomass is likely to remain the primary cooking fuel for a large majority of rural Indian households for many years to come. Through these stoves, we are providing women the opportunity to continue to cook as they would before but in an environment that is less polluting and hazardous,” says Harish Anchan, general manager of Envirofit India Pvt. Ltd.

Five models

The stoves are available in five models priced between Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000. They are available in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and will be introduced in other States in phases.

The stoves will soon be available in over 700 villages in Karnataka and 300 villages in Tamil Nadu, through a network of dealers, distributors, village entrepreneurs as well as non-profit organisations such as MYRADA, the Tamil Nadu Foundation and the Cauvery Women’s Federation.

The stoves have been developed through a partnership between Envirofit and Shell Foundation (United Kingdom). The target is to sell 10 million stoves in five countries in the next five years, according to Ajit Abraham of Shell Foundation India.

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