CHHATTISGARH : For years now, the secret war has ravaged the forest, claiming numerous victims in its wake. Those inhabiting the remote reaches of Chhattisgarh have lived too long under the shadow of terror, cowering as bullets flew overhead and the soil rumbled from distant blasts.
Now, as aggressive anti-Maoist operations secure command over ‘red rebels’ strongholds, forces have reached far-flung rural belts affected by left-wing extremists in supposed relief to those subjected to the Maoist scourge.
After 78 years in independent India, tribal hamlets tucked deep inside forests of southern Chhattisgarh have a reason to cheer as electricity reached their corner of the world for the first time; light bulbs flickered to life in dark corners, courtesy of solar power.
The state government has facilitated renewable sources of power supply to regions devoid of electricity in tribal habitats. Solar energy is lighting up the remotest corners of Bastar and faraway rural pockets with the aid of the state-owned Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA).
Deprived of the barest infrastructure like power supply lines and distribution transformers, the remote tribal villages are getting powered through an off-grid system of solar power, ushering in a ray of hope - freedom from darkness.
CREDA is also providing solar-powered appliances such as lights, fans, high-mast lighting poles, and solar-powered pumps for drinking ater and irrigation purposes. They are designed and executed to be affordable and cost-effective in the long run, CREDA officials said.
Interestingly, solar television is the new intervention in these tribal villages where for the first time people saw various programmes on the national broadcaster Doordarshan. Children in Puvarti, among villages worst-affected by the Maoist reign watched educational shows, cartoons, their faces lit up.
“Its a transformational step towards development in the remote Bastar region”, asserted Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.
CREDA is moving forward with its mission in the districts of Sukma, Narayanpur, Bijapur and Dantewada, once Maoist hotbeds. Now, walking through villages here, one can spot solar panels installed on rooftops, overhead water tanks, irrigation pumps, and a brightly-lit village market. On numerous occasions, CREDA workers toiled for days, walking miles through desolate forests and difficult terrain to bring solar equipments to these distant tribal communities.
“Our primary focus remains to cover those villages around the 5-km radius of the newly-established security camps in the Bastar region. Surveys have initially identified 95 such villages and many of these panchayats are not connected with the power grid. They have not seen electricity at all. So, we are providing solar home lights, solar high-mast lighting, solar television, solar irrigation pumps besides community lighting facilities. Over 80% of these panchayats have been covered by solar power and we are gradually moving forward”, said CREDA CEO Rajesh Singh Rana.
The state has done well in harnessing energy from the sun for the local communities in tribal region and strife-torn Bastar that receives ample sunlight throughout the year.
“Studying at night is now trouble-free with solar lights. The educational programmes on Doordarshan are valuable to the youths”, says Nuppo Hadma, a resident of Puvarti.
Villagers said they never thought of having TVs in their village. “It feels like being connected to the world”, Raju Dasru of Bhurwal, Narayanpur, said with delight. “Now no need to fetch drinking water from distant locations”, said Vetti Kamlu, a housewife in Sukma.
Before the execution of the project, the organisation conducted ground surveys at village and block level to earmark the most suitable places for solar energy utilisation. Based on the day-to-day needs and challenges of people inhabiting these remote areas, CREDA has developed solutions through solar energy.
The socio-economic benefit of solar energy appears vast for those who lived without a source of power supply for so long. There is a perceivable improvement in the quality of lives among these rural households that are beginning to engage in a range of productive activities, affirmed officials in south Bastar.
The basic power infrastructure that has successfully reached areas long-affected by the Maoist scourge includes the electrification of households, street lights, health centres, residential student hostels, and Anganwadis through home lighting systems and off-grid solar power plants. Along with solar agriculture pumps installed in agricultural lands, clean drinking water facility under Jal Jeevan Mission has also been provided through solar dual pumps.
These off grid systems don’t require daily maintenance, making it an efficient and cost-effective source of power supply, officials added.
The initiative is part of the Chhattisgarh government’s ‘Niyad Nellanar’ (which translates to ‘Your Own Village’) scheme to promote development and extend the benefits of welfare schemes to the remotest villages.
“The proper operation and maintenance of the installed solar systems are prioritised through the dedicated cluster technicians of CREDA. We carry out monthly, quarterly and yearly reviews to ensure uninterrupted facilities through the given apparatus and arrangement remain,” said Rana.
The local communities are excited with the green energy consumption in their daily lives in the deprived regions of the state. CREDA through solar power has reached out to remote areas, providing the most basic amenity that is electricity, and thus enabling an array of services to reach these remote corners; clean drinking water, better sanitation, agricultural equipment, and streetlights to ease the lives of those who have borne much trouble in independent India.