Mantri?s ?gas plant?. A Telegraph picture

Midnapore, Oct. 31: Rabindranath Mantri had noticed bubbles popping up and bursting at a particular point in his marshy plot. He didn?t bother.

Finally, he sat up during Durga Puja. Since, the part-time labourer and farmer has not had to buy fuel for home.

At Chaksimulia village in Nandakumar, East Midnapore, about 95 km from Calcutta, Mantri is a proud man. ?Over the past 10 days, we?ve not spent a paisa on kerosene or coal. The gas we are getting is enough for our cooking. We did not have to buy any fuel since Ashtami,? said Shyamali, his wife.

Mantri said: ?I had been observing for long countless bubbles coming out of the murky water. Before Puja, I watched a television programme on natural gas and how it can be harnessed for various purposes, including cooking.? That was it.

On the day of Ashtami, Mantri went to the local market and bought PVC pipe. Back at his 5,040 sq-ft field, he cased the bubbly spot with clay and covered the top with a polythene sheet, punched a hole in it to insert the pipe and took it 120 feet away to his kitchen.

Mantri fitted the pipe to his stove and he could light a fire minus kerosene. He now owns a ?natural gas plant?.

Hundreds of people from nearby villages are coming to see the ?wonder?.

The worry of fuel off him, Mantri has a bigger concern to contend with ? explaining his feat. Nandakumar panchayat samiti president Hrishikesh Majhi has informed the administration about Mantri?s gas supply.

Mantri?s neighbour Biswanath Mantri said his small plot is part of a 100-bigha marshland. ?We had noticed the bubbles, but never dreamt that this gas or whatever it is could be used for cooking. Rabindranath is a hero.?

Additional district magistrate Phani Bhusan Bhuin has sought a report from the block development officer. ?After getting the report, we will request the Indian Oil Corporation or the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to identify the gas.?