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Locals’ efforts pay off; sun brightens whole village
Locals’ efforts pay off; sun brightens whole village. At a time when power cuts are quite common in villages, Banjerupally village of Siddipet mandal in Medak district has taken up the task of becoming self-sufficient by generating its own power and became 100 per cent solar village, standing as an example for other villages in the State to follow.
Banjerupally in Medak district goes 100% solar, thanks to the initiatives by Siddipet MLA and Minister Harish Rao
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By the insistence of Irrigation Minister and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao, the villagers have agreed to install solar energy generating equipment in each and every household in the village four months ago.
Every unit of equipment costs around Rs 85,000, out of which the beneficiaries paid only Rs 8,500. NABARD paid Rs 45,000 per unit and the rest of the money came from NGOs’ and Harish Rao’s contribution towards the development initiative.
Each unit of solar equipment generates 500 Watts of power, which can operate five bulbs, a half-motor, a television set, a refrigerator, three fans, a cooler or even a photocopy machine, according to the villagers.
“Before the equipment was installed, we used to get power only for three hours, that too during three-phase hours. The bill used to come anywhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,100. Now darkness has disappeared from the village. We pay only the minimum electricity bill which is Rs 120 per month. We don’t even know when there is a power cut now,” said Shankar, the vice-sarpanch of Banjerupally.
Not only in power generation, but also in other developmental aspects, the village, which has just 120 households, is standing tall today. The villagers have formed committees for each task and have achieved significant progress. There were four belt shops in the village which have been shut down by the villagers as part of going for complete prohibition of liquor in the village.
Each household has planted five saplings as part of their green initiative. There was a time when there were only eight children studying in the government school located in the village. Children from almost all the households used to go to private schools to pursue education.
However, recently, the villagers have decided that they would join all their children in the government school in the village itself. Now the strength of the school has risen to 78 and new rooms have been built with the help of the local MLA. Two additional teachers have been employed and the school is running just fine.
By Vivek Bhoomi
