Mumbai: Deonar abattoir generates power from slaughtered animal waste

The city-based Deonar abattoir, one of the biggest slaughter houses in the country, has started generating power by using the waste of the slaughtered animals, its official said on Thursday. In the last 40 days, the abattoir has produced around 1,000 units of electricity, which it is using internally. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which manages the slaughter house, had signed an MoU with the the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) in 2014 to set up a
biomethanisation plant to use bio-waste for power generation.

"With the help of the BARC, our team started working on this project almost seven months back and we are happy that in the last 40 days we have generated around 1,000 units of electricity," General Manager of Deonar abattoir, Dr Yogesh Shetye, said. A senior BMC official said on an average, 3,000 goats, sheep and 150 buffaloes are slaughtered on a daily basis at the abattoir, which producing almost eight tonnes of bio-waste. A statement issued by the BMC said, "The operation of the plant that follows the natural process of biomethanisation is going to become win-win situation for the civic body." In the near future, the production of electricity would be stepped up in accordance with the rise in the animal waste, it said.

Built in 1968, the Deonar abattoir currently supplies half of the city's meat requirement. "The abattoir is now being equipped with solar energy utilisation, rainwater harvesting facilities, high-end machinery for loading and unloading of ramps for all types of animals as well as dispensary for municipal employees and buildings to accommodate officers," another civic official said.