By Jeevan Kumar Durgam
Solar power seems to be the best weapon to counter power crisis. After announcing two solar power plants recently, now the Telangana government, in collaboration with the Centre, is going to implement a new scheme under which solar panels would be attached to handwater pumps to convert them into duel purpose motor pumps in rural areas.
The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has sanctioned advanced solar power-based motors and storage tanks to boost safe drinking water supply in rural areas in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana.
The Union government will bear 70 per cent of the expenditure for the project and the rest will be funded by the State governments.
“So far 92 villages in four districts have been selected for the project,” said B Surender Reddy, engineer-in-chief, Rural Water Supply & Sanitation (RWS&S) Department. The work is in progress and will be over in three months, he added.
The modified hand pumps will have a tank of 5,000 litre storage capacity along with an inbuilt water purifier. The solar panels on top of the tank will generate power. Each solar set will generate around 675 watts everyday.
The hand pumps can be simultaneously used as manual pumps and motor pumps as the modifications will not disrupt existing water supply system. Though it was intended to be economical, the production cost for each set is estimated around `5 lakh.
The system is so designed as to ensure water supply even from the worst ground water levels. The additional civil work for digging and construction work might push the expenditure a little higher than the estimated amount. But the government has decided to go ahead despite the higher cost.
However, manufacturers defend the higher prices. “Each pump can supply water to the entire village. It requires no additional power and it is also environment-friendly,” argued Durga V Pinnam Raju, managing director of Aditi Solar Private Limited.
It is also cost-effective, because the companies will provide servicing and maintenance for at least the first two years, he claimed. If the project materialises, rural people will get solar pumps without paying a rupee.
Source: The New Indian Express