Hamlets of a Thousand Splendid Suns

Silver and golden rays of light slice open the breaking day in villages in Alanganallur block, Madurai East, Madurai West and Melur blocks. The streets are unpaved but streetlights powered by solar energy burn bright, lighting up the dips and curves on the village roads.

Load shedding has now become a way of life in Madurai, but good news is emerging from hamlets in rustic Madurai.

The key beneficiaries are the villagers of Kidaripatti, behind Alagarmalai, the abode of Lord Sundararaja Perumal, 25 km from the city. The farm labourers here have embraced the new technology that powers their life.

"Earlier the animals in the nearby woods gave us sleepless nights. Now, with lights on at night, the wild animals have been kept away," said the relieved villagers.

For K. Shanti, a 10th standard student, living in Vallalapatti, the energy tapped through solar power is a boon. "Till recently, I was studying in the village common place where there is light for the villagers to sit and chat. Now, having a CFL light at home is a luxury I enjoy," she said and thanked her parents, farm labourers, for installing the new facility.

Capitalising on the deteriorating power scenario, many solar companies have set up shop in Tier-II cities such as Madurai. Public sector banks are offering loans on soft terms to people, especially those hailing from remote pockets.

NABARD gives subsidies to different categories, while the State government made it mandatory for heavy energy consumers to install solar panels.

Town Planning and local authorities are now insisting on builders and realtors on setting up solar panels, said M. S. Rajan, channel partner of Sun Edison, a North America-based solar company.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, during her previous tenure, had made it mandatory for every house to have Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) structures.

Not only recharging the ground water level, but these days of acute power shortage, educating people to tap solar power is bound to reap good results, Mr. Rajan said and added that Tamil Nadu had the advantage to tap solar energy for 300 days in a year. This would go a long way in making it a power surplus state.

Voluntary organisations such as the Lions Clubs are promoting solar energy in far-flung settlements.

The results are promising. Hamlets beyond Alagarmalai, which remained without power for so long, are now lit up.

Nambirajan recounted how fishermen in a coastal village near Dhanushkodi in Ramanathapuram district have benefited from solar energy. "The fishermen, in order to
recharge their mobile phones, had to travel six to eight kilometres to find electricity. After a demo solar panel was installed, the villagers were happy to see that they could re-charge their mobiles right in the village. Today, at least 20 individuals have obtained "solar loans" and installed panels in their houses. Realising the potential, a women?s self-help-group (SHG) is in the business of charging mobile phones. Rs. 5 per hour for charging a handset. On an average, it gets Rs. 150 a day," he said.

Sharing yet another success story, he said that Akshara School near Madurai Kamaraj University has a computer laboratory with 30 terminals.

The school had registered for online courses for the students. However, power cuts had put the students in a quandary. A solar power facility was designed exclusively for the lab. "Now, there is absolutely no interruption due to power cuts," a school correspondent named Kousalya said.

District Collector Anshul Mishra said that the State government is promoting solar energy in a big way by giving sops to different categories.

Villagers in the interior of Madurai East and Alanganallur proudly displayed the solar panels they had installed in their homes. The farm labourers have enthusiastically embraced the new technology that powers their life.

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Source: http://www.shvoong.com/society-and-news/news-items/2362460-hamlets-thousand-splendid-suns/

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