Biofuel may be used to light up villages

Madurai: The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is considering the use of biofuel to light up remote hamlets in the southern districts in association with the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA). According to the adviser to MNRE, Mr Ajit K. Gupta, who was in the city recently, biofuel could be extracted from jatropha. Around 100 hamlets are under consideration for the project. The Forest Department is promoting the cultivation of jatropha in Ramanathapuram. T he Madurai Kamaraj University, actively involved in the development of biofuel, could co-ordinate the agencies in this respect, he suggested.