Puttur city municipality in Dakshina Kannada district use Bio CNG generated from wet waste to operate its six vehicles since August 2024.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

In a rare initiative in Karnataka, Puttur City Municipal Council in Dakshina Kannada district has been converting wet waste into Bio Compressed Natural Gas (BioCNG) with the help of a private company. The BioCNG is being used to operate six vehicles of the municipality.

The BioCNG is generated by Krishna Muliya Green Energy LLP in a plant at Bannur.

Now, the municipality and Krishna Muliya Green Energy LLP are planning to sell surplus BioCNG to potential consumers.

Municipality Commissioner Madhu S. Manohar told The Hindu that the plant was set up by Krishna Muliya Green Energy LLP under Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model on civic land. The plant was financed and is being operated by the LLP. The firm will have to hand over the plant to the municipality after 40 years.

“The plant produced over 24,000 k.g of BioCNG since August, 2024,” the Commissioner said adding that it produced between 200 kg and 250 kg of gas daily. “Our target is to produce 350 kg of gas every day,” he said.

Mr. Manohar said that about 12 tonnes of wet waste is generated in the jurisdiction of the municipality daily. The municipality diverted 10 tonnes of wet waste for producing BioCNG. The remaining two tonnes of waste is not fit for use in the plant because it contains some mixed waste. Wet waste has to be segregated if it is to be used for generating gas. Hence, the two tonnes are being used for composting.

Krishna Narayana Muliya, Managing Director, Krishna Muliya Green Energy LLP, said that the firm joined hands with the municipality as a social service without commercial interest as the venture is not remunerative. “Preparations are on to sell the unused BioCNG to people,” Mr. Muliya said.

Retap Solutions Private Limitdd, Mangaluru has provided technical solutions for the project.

The Commissioner said that, with a growing population and increasing waste generation, Puttur city faces a mounting challenge in managing municipal solid waste, particularly biodegradable wet waste. Recognising the environmental and economic potential of organic waste, the municipality adopted innovative solutions to convert it into BioCNG, a renewable and eco-friendly energy source.

By leveraging cutting-edge technology, the municipality processes organic waste, such as food scrap, vegetable peels, and garden trimmings, into high-quality BioCNG. This not only helps in reduce the dependency on fossil fuels but also mitigates the harmful impact of improper waste disposal, such as greenhouse gas emissions and soil contamination.

“The initiative is the first of its kind among urban local bodies in Karnataka,” Mr. Manohar said.

“We have been getting enquiries from a few other urban local bodies in the State seeking details with the intention of replicating the process in their cities,” the Commissioner said.

Both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have seen significant price drops, offering a great opportunity for anyone looking to get their hands on one of Apple’s top models at a more affordable price. This is a limited-time deal that brings hefty discounts, making it an ideal moment for tech enthusiasts and everyday users alike.

Also read: iPhone 15, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and more mobiles at up to 37% discount in Amazon sale

In addition to the reduced prices, shoppers can also take advantage of attractive bank offers during the sale. HDFC credit card holders can enjoy instant discounts on their purchases, while those opting for EMI transactions can benefit from further savings. For those using Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Cards, there’s an extra cashback offer waiting.

Here’s a look at the new prices and what each model has to offer.

iPhone 15 Price Drop

The iPhone 15 is now available for Rs. 58,999 for the 128GB variant, a major discount from its original price of Rs. 79,990. This model has dropped by Rs. 20,991, making it the lowest price to date. On top of this, Amazon is offering Rs. 1,769 as cashback in Amazon Pay balance, adding even more value to the deal.

The iPhone 15 features a 6.1-inch display and comes in various colour options, including pink, yellow, green, blue, and black. Powered by the A16 Bionic chip, it delivers fast performance. The rear camera system includes a 48MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a 12MP telephoto camera. The front camera offers 12MP for selfies and video calls.

Also read: Best time to buy a PS5? Up to 52% discount on gaming consoles in Amazon sale- Check deals

iPhone 15 Plus Price Cut

The iPhone 15 Plus is now available for Rs. 74,000 for the 128GB variant, a huge discount from its original price of Rs. 89,900. This variant has dropped by 18 percent, making it the lowest price to date. Additionally, customers will receive Rs. 1,769 in Amazon Pay balance as cashback. That’s not all, customers can further reduce the cost by trading in an old device, with exchange discounts of up to Rs. 70,200, provided the traded device is in good condition and the exchange offer is available in their area.

Also read: Best deals on power banks in Amazon Great Summer Sale 2025- Check now

iPhone 15 Plus was launched in 2023 alongside the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models. The device features a 6.7-inch OLED display, it features a dynamic island that houses a 12MP front camera. The phone comes equipped with an Apple A16 Bionic chipset paired with up to 512GB of built-in storage.

In terms camera, the iPhone 15 Plus features a dual rear camera setup, including a 48MP rear camera and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. Additionally, the handset is also claimed to provide up to 100 hours of Audio Playback time and up to 26 hours of Video playback time.

For years, the origin of the universe’s most massive elements—such as gold, platinum, and uranium—was a puzzle that remained unanswered. Although the universe’s lighter elements are produced in stars, the source of the earliest heavy ones was in question. However, now, scientists examining virtually 20-year-old space information suggest magnetars—extremely magnetic neutron stars—might fill in the gaps. The little-known stellar debris would have manufactured and spread out heavy elements using colossal flares early in the universe’s evolution. This theory, supported by gamma-ray signals from past flares, offers a new perspective on how the building blocks of modern technology may have formed in the depths of space.

Key role of magnetars in the formation of gold and other heavy elements

In a new study by Anirudh Patel, a Ph.D. student at Columbia University, scientists theorise that magnetars—a rare and extremely magnetic form of neutron star—could have played a key role in the formation and dispersal of heavy elements across the universe. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, holds that bursts from these unusual stars could have contributed much more significantly than initially believed to element formation above iron.

Source: NASA

According to NASA, in the universe’s origins, only hydrogen, helium, and small quantities of lithium were present. Gold, platinum, and uranium, everything heavier than these, would have to have been created afterward, usually inside stars. Still, the actual processes that generated the very earliest of these heavy elements were an enigma. “It’s a recreational puzzle that hasn’t really been solved,” Patel said. His researchers looked back to almost two-decade-old data from ESA and NASA telescopes, finding that giant flares from magnetars could be responsible for as much as 10% of the heavy elements in our galaxy. Because magnetars formed early in the life of the universe, they could have been among the first cosmic goldsmiths for gold and other precious elements.

Cosmic cracks that spark elemental creation

Eric Burns, a co-author from Louisiana State University, likened the breakthrough to solving a century-old enigma using long-forgotten data. Magnetars are extremely dense remnants of supernova explosions. Just a teaspoon of their matter would weigh billions of tonnes on Earth. But what sets them apart is their immense magnetic field—trillions of times stronger than Earth’s. Sometimes, their severe internal stresses lead to “starquakes,” shattering their crusts and spewing out outbreaks of high-energy radiation in the form of magnetar flares. Such outbursts are so energetic they influence Earth’s atmosphere, even though they take place thousands of light-years from Earth.

Stellar firestorms could have forged the first gold

Patel and his colleagues ventured that these outbursts of violence from the stars could build heavy elements during an r-process, or process of rapid neutron capture. Such a process results when atomic nuclei capture neutrons at a swift rate, gaining mass and transforming into new atoms via radioactive disintegration.
According to the NASA reports, in 2017, the universe saw heavy elements being created in the merger of two neutron stars, giving direct evidence of the r-process. Yet, such cosmic mergers happen too rarely and too late to account for the early existence of elements such as gold. Patel’s team investigated if magnetar flares, being more frequent and happening earlier, could be the missing link. Whereas the team first considered visible or ultraviolet light for providing hints, Burns recommended considering gamma rays because of their penetrating abilities and distinctive signatures. That change in direction prompted them to re-examine data from a strong magnetar flare observed in 2004 by ESA’s retired INTEGRAL satellite.
To their surprise, the gamma-ray signal in the data exactly replicated what their theoretical models had shown. “I wasn’t thinking about anything else for the next week,” Patel recalled of the epiphany moment. Independent confirmation came later with archival observations from NASA’s RHESSI and Wind satellites, both of which had observed the same flare independently and reinforced the team’s conclusion.

A new era in Astrophysics: Magnetar flares and element creation

This finding has opened a new frontier in astrophysics. NASA’s next COSI mission, launching in 2027, will be a wide-field gamma-ray telescope that will investigate cosmic explosions. It might directly observe the creation of certain elements during magnetar flares, possibly validating Patel’s hypothesis.
Meanwhile, researchers are sifting through other ancient telescope data, searching for similar gamma-ray signatures left behind by previous flares. The thought that a phenomenon as brutal as a magnetar flare was behind the gold in wedding bands or the platinum in cellphones is humbling and awe-provoking.
“It’s kind of nice to consider that some of the material in my phone or laptop was created through this intense explosion,” Patel mused, reliving the marvel of following commonplace materials back to celestial catastrophes billions of years ago.
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