Solar powered dryers to keep vegetables and fruits in good condition will be supplied to farmers from tribal hamlets of Pothanur, Vilangkupppam and Varudhalampattu villages under Alangayam block of Tirupattur district.
A model of the dryer was displayed at the Collector office, Tirupattur on Thursday, where the District Collector, M.P. Sivanarul, inspected the equipment and accessed the details of its functioning.
The villages from Pudhurnadu, Nellivasalnadu and Pungampattu village panchayats have a large number of tribal residential areas, and among them, 76 families that have obtained pattas under the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, will be given the drying machines.
According to officials from the Scheduled Tribes Welfare department, each equipment costs ₹35,000.
These machines mainly function with solar energy would be useful for the farmers to preserve perishables for couple more days.
20kg capacity
“20 kilograms of produce can be stored with the two trays available inside the machine. It functions with two fans using 12 volts of electricity produced through solar panels. There is a fibre-glass with specialised coating to prevent ultra-violet rays from entering the drying portion,” said a technical support staff.
