
A Twitter user posted a video of PM Modi speaking on the possible uses of toxic gas emitted from sewage. In the video, Modi is talking about the greatness of a tea seller who used to power his tea stove by converting gutter gas into a biofuel. However, the most interesting and unimaginable part is the way he does it.
Immediately after the video went viral, Mr. Modi was lampooned and ridiculed by multiple people on social media and twitter handles for suggesting that gas can be generated from the gutter.
Check out the video first!
Dr Homie Jubaangir Baba explaining his research about the use of Toxic gases of sewer & manhole for cooking purposes in front of Nobel Prize committee for Chemistry. (2018) pic.twitter.com/PCwraslxEJ
— History of India (@RealHistoryPic) August 12, 2018
While speaking at the inauguration of World Biofuel Day, the PM recalled an anecdote about a chaiwaala or a tea-seller who harnessed the smelly gases emanating from a sewer to light up his stove.
“Kisi chotte se nagar mein, naale ke paas, koi chai ka thela lekar ke khada rehtha tha aur chai banakar ke bechta tha. Ussne ek chote se bartan ko ulta karke, ched karke ek pipe daal di. Aur jo gutter se gas nikalta tha, woh pipeline se uske chai ke thele mein le liya. Aur woh chai banane ke liye ussi gas ka upyog karke chai banata tha.” PM said.
PM Narendra Modi shared an inspiring story of Shyam Rai, who hails from Raipur in Chhattisgarh and used to convert smell emitting from gutters into gas. Shyam Rai used his technology to convert smell emitting from the gutter into gas and later used it for cooking at his tea-stall.
Is He Entirely Wrong?
He may not be entirely wrong. PM Modi was referring to harvesting methane from sewers as an economical and eco-friendly option for cooking gas. But it was PM’s oversimplification of the process that left many in splits. He explained:- “He kept a small vessel on top of the gutter, made a hole in it and put a pipe through it. He used the gas that passed through the pipe to make tea.”
In 2013, The Hindu has reported about a village that has been using sewage gas for cooking.

Here is how Modi was trolled badly by Twitterati-
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has once again targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his questionable educational qualification.
इसीलिए कहते हैं कि देश का प्रधान मंत्री पढ़ा लिखा ही होना चाहिए https://t.co/lOxaubdSPd
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 13, 2018
Responding to a viral video of the prime minister talk about about ‘gutter gas,’ Kejriwal tweeted, “That’s why it’s said that the country’s prime minister should be an educated person.”
Journalist Sagarika Ghose chipped in with her own tweet that read-
What a breathtaking scientific breakthrough! Have western scientists discovered this miracle yet? https://t.co/G0yOn1FlxD
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) August 13, 2018
Comedian Kunal Kamra mocked the prime minister by recording his own video.
*Thank you modiji for giving GAS* pic.twitter.com/0BMNFwTmp6
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) August 13, 2018
Atul Khatri’s Tweet
Last night I ate a lot of chole..
Today morning used that gas to make tea..
— Atul Khatri (@one_by_two) August 13, 2018
One should understand that those who didn’t jump on the bandwagon to troll Rahul Gandhi after Shikanjigate knew he was only trying to find a desi co-ordinate for the word soda and restaurant when he said shikanji and dhabha. Maybe PM Modi was trying to do the same when he oversimplified the complicated biogas procedure when he recounted the story of the tea-seller.
Do you think the idea Mr Modi sharing is entirely wrong?