From darkness to light,solar power comes to Velhe taluka

“It was way back in 2005 that we embarked upon various development programmes in Velhe taluka. However,as far as the project pertaining to the solar lamps was concerned,we first made a survey and decided to implement it in the villages that were worst hit. Thus we came up with the names of these four villages. We have named them as Solar Villages,” Nagesh Jadhav,Intervida’s coordinator for the Velhe project said.

Each of the 60 households has been installed with three solar lamps,Jadhav said. Laxman Dhebe,a villager from Kumbhatal,said,“Our villages are located in remote areas. So far,we have not had any electricity connections and we had to use kerosene lamps during night. Now,thanks to the solar lamps,our children can read and write at night as well. This has saved our expenses on the kerosene as well. We are happy now,as it is the first time that our hamlet has received light.”

“We have also taken an amount of Rs 500 from each household and put all that money in a bank account opened in the name of a Village Development Committee (VDC) formed in each village. The committee can withdraw this amount any time for the maintenance work of the solar light equipment,” Jadhav said