Solar power boon
Calcutta, Feb. 8: Nilima Maiti, a housewife, had little to do in her spare time till she came to know about a project to promote the use of solar energy. Maiti and five other housewives now earn a few hundred rupees every month renting out solar lanterns.
They work under a pilot project launched by the Delhi-based non-government organisation The Energy Research Institute (TERI) and the Ramakrishna Mission in Kakdwip, 80 km from here.
The project is aimed at generating employment with the help of schemes promoting use of solar energy. The women also design and assemble electronic appliances and repair and maintain solar home systems.
“I used to get bored at home doing nothing,” says Maiti, poring over a soldering kit. “But all that changed with this programme.”
“My husband is very supportive of my work… He drops by quite often,” said Bina Samanta, Nilima’s colleague at the workshop in Kakdwip, an area starved of electricity.
“We found rural Bengal to be the largest market for solar home systems,” says Akanksha Chaurey, associate director, regulatory studies and governance division of TERI.
A solar home system is made up of a solar module, a battery and lamps and bulbs. A government subsidy of 90 per cent brings the set — costing between Rs 17,000 and 20,000 — within the reach of those in the villages.
But what’s really gaining popularity are portable solar-powered lanterns that provide 40-watt power for five to six hours on a single charge.
“There is great demand for these from shops. We rent them out for Rs 5 a night. Pan farms also prefer these as they can’t use diesel-powered lights which spoil the flavour of betel leaves,” said Chandana Majhi, a worker at the lantern and car battery charging station in Bhuban Nagar, 5 km from the Kakdwip workshop.
telegraphindia.com |
