Authors : R. R. Kumbhar and U. H. Pawar
Page Nos : 84-88
Description :
Abstract:
The availability of energy is an important determinant of the quality of life in human settlements. A study has been carried out to identify the fuel consumption pattern in rural areas on pilot basis in the villages in Sangli District of Maharashtra state in India. The Eastern part of the District is known as the drought prone area and the agricultural pattern is completely depending on the rainy season. The study reveals that the present level of use of fuel wood by households (509.5 kg/month) is continuing despite the fact that other fuels like kerosene (3.47 Lit/month), Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) (7.22 Kg/month) are also being used. The study also revealed that rural households use fire wood, cow-dung, leaves & twigs, branches, straw as biomass energy mainly for cooking. It was found that rural households collect of biomass from their own homestead and agricultural lands. Per capita per day fuel wood consumption reveals that due to improper distribution of the LPG and kerosene there is excess use of fuel wood which tends to de-forestation in the rural area of the District. It is concluded from study that consumption of LPG in Kitchen by households is proportional to the income while tendency to use Kerosene in Kitchen by households, on an average, is almost same for different income groups. The study is helpful to formulate policies and support tools to take into account the future challenges for demand of fuel resources, their sustainable utilization, promotion, and development.
Keywords: Households, Consumption, Fuel, Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), Kerosene.
