Huvinahalli, a village of 45 households, in Channarayapatna taluk, was declared smoke-free by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, recently. Among the households, 39 have biogas units and the remaining have LPG connections.
The biogas units have been installed with help from the Biofuel Park of the university. H. Shivanna, Vice-Chancellor of UAS-B, declared the village smoke-free on May 22, by unveiling a biogas unit in the village.
Interestingly, every house in the village has an average of four cattle. The villages have grown biofuel tree varieties such as Pongamia, Neem, Hippe, and Jatropha.
Dr. Shivanna said development works should reach the village to enable it to become a smart village. He appreciated the efforts of the Biofuel Park, Hassan Zilla Panchayat and World Agro-Forestry Centre, which sponsored the biofuel units, and helped in making the village smoke-free.
Naveen Sharma of World Agro-Forestry Centre in Nairobi, Balakrishne Gowda, Head of Biofuel Park, and others were present.
