Kissed by the morning sun, eight-year-old Yogesh and five-year-old Bhavana wake up to do their homework which they couldn’t do the previous night. Their mother Shubha, hunched in another corner, struggles to cook breakfast-cum-lunch on an old and overused kerosene stove. The less than 150-sq. ft. of space is enclosed within its mud walls. Under the sloping asbestos roof, the ‘power-less’ house is shared by five members.
Each household in Asare Nagar colony in Peenya spotted almost similar picture until solar energy propelled a much-cherished change in this colony, albeit in a small way.
Nearly 1,700-odd families, mostly from north Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, have made their home here. Most residents are construction workers, drivers and waiters. Women are mainly employed at nearby garment companies. Despite high tension wires hanging above their huts with an uninterrupted flow of electricity to the industrial hub, Asare colony has no electricity. For, they don’t have title deeds.
The change does not always come with a big bang. However, it was the beginning of a new dawn when nearly 100 families woke up to the possibility of renewable, eco-friendly solar power. Now, the children here study in the night and women, after coming from garment factories, get to watch serials and movies on solar-enabled DVD players. Charging mobile phones and torch lights have become hurdle-free. And they believe it is the sun god who is blessing them day and night.
■ Reluctant start: When the mobile revolution hit the world, Asare residents also fancied buying cell phones, but a peculiar problem bothered them. There was no way to charge the battery. When Shankar, an executive of SELCO founded by Ramon Magsaysay award winner Harish Hande, stepped into Asare Nagar with a promise to light up their lives with solar lamps in 2010, not many were game for it.
The residents of Asare Nagar colony feared that an amount of `8,000 as initial investment would leave a hole in their pocket. “We faced difficulties in convincing them that solar lights would be an ideal alternative for grid power,” Shankar says.
He zeroed in on his first customer after much deliberation. Gajendra, a driver finally agreed to buy one unit and following my advice, he started selling mobile ‘charge’ and used the money to pay installments,” Shankar adds.
With the help of a bank, SELCO managed to give solar energy equipment to 100-odd residents. One unit consisted of a solar panel, two solar lamps, a battery, a charge controller and a mobile charging unit. They have to pay a monthly installment of Rs 165, including interest, over a period of four years.NABARD also subsidised the amount. But still, nearly 1,000 residents in the colony are awaiting the arrival of solar power. The hurdle is the bank’s reluctance to extend more loans. SELCO general manager Prasantha Biswal says it’s high time the government institutions, including banks, helped the slum-dwellers.