‘Gas from Gutter’ story narrated by PM Modi turned true

‘Gas from Gutter’  story narrated by PM Modi turned true

Bengalure (Karnataka)/ Raipur (Chhattisgarh): The story of  ‘Gas from Gutter’  narrated by Prime Minister  Narendra Modi in his speech at Bidar  in Karnataka during Bio Fuel day and which was criticised by Congress President Rahul turned to to be true with man from Chhattisgarh getting patent for the said invention.

Shyam Rao Shirke, a mechanical contractor who patented production of bio-CNG from sewage sludge, has shared how his initiative became functional.

"I collected water from drains and made mini 'collector' to collect water bubbles, used a drum to make a gas holder. When tested, system was functional. I connected it to a gas stove and made tea," Shirke said in an interview to ANI.

Sharing that Chhattisgarh Science and Technology gave him money to take it to the next level, Shirke said he built and installed it in a nullah.

"In three days enough gas was collected. It was installed in a house where food was prepared for 4-5 months," the mechanical contractor said.

"Scientists told me my paper has been sent to higher authorities. It had already been 2 years hence, I had forgotten about it. Yesterday I came to know Modi ji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has mentioned my invention in his speech," he added.

Sharing his ordeal, Shirke said he had no financial assistance.

"People from Municipality threw away the equipment, saying it's a wastage. People from Science and Technology asked me to lodge FIR. I was disappointed so didn't do anything," he said.

Addressing a public rally in Karnataka's Bidar on Monday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Prime Minister Modi over the story about a tea seller making use of gas from a nearby drainage.

"Modi promised to give 2 crore jobs to youth, now, he says make pakoras... make 'gas from drainage', he said.

Reacting on Congress President's remark, Shirke said he didn't know Rahul would be so "immature"

"Nallah emitting foul gases and polluting environment is now being used for something like this and creating fuel. It's in national interest. I didn't like what Rahul Gandhi ji said, never thought he's immature," Shirke said.

On August 10, Prime Minister Modi while addressing a World Biofuel Day event had spoken about the possibility of generating fuel from sewage gas. He told the story of a tea seller executing the process.

India Wins in another PATENT WAR

India Wins in another PATENT WAR

NEW DELHI: India scored an important success when it fully protected its traditional knowledge by stalling a leading UK-based laboratory's move to patent a medicinal composition containing turmeric, pine bark and green tea for treating hair loss. Thanks to the vigilance of The vigilance of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The move comes just days after India foiled a similar attempt by US-based consumer goods giant Colgate-Palmolive from patenting a mouthwash formula containing herbal extracts. 

The vigilance of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) helped protect the Indian products as the council in its submission to the European Patent Office managed to prove that turmeric, pine bark and green tea were being used as a treatment for hair loss in Indian systems of medicine like Ayurveda and Unani since ancient times. 

The UK-based company - Pangaea Laboratories Limited - had filed the patent application in February, 2011. The CSIR-TKDL unit had, however, objected to it and filed evidence on January 13, 2014 once the patent application got published in the European Patent Office website. 

Based on India's evidence, the patent application was finally "deemed to be withdrawn" by the applicant on June 29 this year. 

The back-to-back victories in thwarting the attempts of the two big foreign entities (Colgate-Palmolive and Pangaea Laboratories Limited) adds another feather to the cap of TKDL's which has tasted success now in about 200 such cases without incurring any cost to the public exchequer. 

Recently, it had frustrated a move by Colgate-Palmolive to patent a mouthwash formula containing herb 'Jayaphal' (Nutmeg) extract. "The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, headed by senior scientist Archana Sharma, had submitted proof in the form of references from ancient books, which said the herb and its extracts of 'Myristica Fragrans' were used for oral diseases in Indian systems of medicine", said an official note. 

The TKDL is a pioneering initiative to prevent misappropriation of country's traditional medicinal knowledge at international patent offices. It has structured and classified the Indian traditional medicine system in approximately 25,000 sub-groups for Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga. 

It is proving to be an effective deterrent against bio-piracy and is being recognized as a global leader in the area of traditional knowledge protection.