Beneficiaries of the sun SYED AKBAR HYDERABAD

LinkWHILE CENTRE SITS ON ITS SOLAR HUB PROPOSAL, TRIBAL WOMEN IN VIZAG SHOW THE WAY A group of tribal women in Visakhapatnam agency area decided not wait another 10 years for electricity. With the help of National Institute of Rural Development, they are now using solar lamps to light up their homes. "We are very happy that at least our children are fortunate to have the power facility which will bring happiness in their lives.

We spent almost our entire lives in darkness."

Yeramma 60-year-old villager

Almost a decade has passed since the Centre and the state government announced their plans to tap solar energy in Andhra Pradesh.

The proposals have been reworked several times and finally the Centre has decided to select Visakhapatnam as a solar hub to reduce dependence on conventional energy by 10 per cent.

But a group of tribals decided they cannot wait for another decade to enjoy the fruits of electricity.

"Villages and tribal hamlets occupy the bottom in the priority list of the government. We depend on kerosene to light up our houses. So we decided to light up our homes using solar energy," says Pongi Ramanamma, a resident of Thammingala, a remote village in Chintapalli agency area of Visakhapatnam district, as she tunes to DD News on her black and white TV set.

Tribals of Visakhapatnam have shown the way to officials and politicians, who rake their brains to find solutions to global warming and climate change.

Apart from two bulbs in each house, many households have television sets with set-top box operated through solar energy. The state government erected electric poles in 1991 and 18 years on, they are yet to be energised.

"We are very happy that at least our children are fortunate to have the power facility which will bring happiness in their lives.
We spent almost our entire lives in darkness," said Yerramma, a 60-year-old tribal woman.

People in Thammingala, which does not figure in the local mandal maps because of its tiny nature, are overwhelmed about the change from flickering kerosene lamps to solar cfl bulbs and battery-operated radio sets to solar-power TVs. "We have never imagined that we would be able to see moving pictures on the small box. We do not know what an electric bulb is till three months ago," says Pothu Rajubabu.

The transformation came in the Agency belt, not because of the initiative of the state or the Centre, but thanks to the Barefoot Solar Women Engineers' Association.

Taking a cue from their counterparts in Thammingala, the villagers of Pusalapalem too installed solar home light system units. These two villages sit on the picturesque Eastern Ghats, about 180 km from Visakhapatnam. The nearest motorable road is about 15 km away.

The solar lamps were a boon for tribal students who appeared for Class X examination. They could study during the night hours too.