Chinna Mulkanoor village in Chigurumamidi mandal of Karimnagar district, which is also Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s adopted village, has become the first village in the district to use solar energy to light up its streets, and in turn save conventional energy sources and power bills of the gram panchayat.
The streets, which were until now illuminated using traditional bulbs, have become brighter with the use of LED lamps, helping villagers move freely at night.
Night shopping
The solar LED lights have also paved way for night shopping on the streets, with vegetable vendors selling their produce late past dusk. The streetlights switch on at dusk and switch off at dawn automatically.
The gram panchayat has started saving ₹4,500 on power bills every month.
In order to tap natural sources of renewable energy and reduce pollution, the district administration took the help of the National bank for agriculture and rural development (Nabard) to make the Chief Minister’s adopted village a model solar village. Accordingly, in the first phase, the authorities spent ₹15 lakh — with Nabard contributing ₹9 lakh and the district administration contributing ₹6 lakh — and installed 86 streetlights in the village. The Green Power Technologies was entrusted the job by providing five years warranty for the batteries and 25 years warranty for the solar panel.
Village sarpanch Rajaiah said Chinna Mulkanoor was brightly lit with the solar LED lights, and the villagers were happy with the same. There was no need of manpower to switch on or switch off the lights, he said.
Nabard assistant general manager R. Ravi Babu, who was instrumental in commissioning the LED lights in the village, said that they would completely transform the village using solar lighting in each household by providing financial assistance from the bank.
The State government has also decided to provide free solar lighting for the beneficiaries of the double-bedroom housing scheme in the village, he said.
