Remember Shahrukh Khan’s movie Swades, in which he lights up a remote village with a hydroelectric setup? Well, a small village in Karnataka has gone one step up and found a permanent solution to their electricity woes.
Villages with no road and no electricity are not a rare thing in India. But the various smart and innovative solutions people find to overcome the situation. Chembu village in the border of Dakshina Kannada and Madikeri district has set a wonderful example in this regard. This tiny village did not got electricity until now from any suppliers. So they took matters into their own hands.
Chembu is a small village surrounded by dense forests and plenty of streams. As there are lands belonging to forest department around the village, it makes it difficult for the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited to install electric poles.
However, the villagers of Chembu now enjoy free electricity 24 hours a day, 365 days a week. Yes, you read that right. The villagers have laid large pipes into streams and diverted the water to their backyard. There turbines are fixed that run when the water falls over them with force. The generator connected to the turbines produce electricity and voila!
80% of the village homes have been producing their own electricity. The gram panchayat has played a pivotal role by helping them get loans and subsidies that they can avail to produce small scale hydroelectricity. The entire hydroelectric production set up costs around 30 to 50 thousand rupees.
During rainy season, the villagers run the turbine for most part of the day and night. During summer, they leave the water to their fields and re divert it at nights to their backyards. Like these they balance water necessity to agricultural and power needs. The villagers have been reaping 1 KV, 2KV electricity as per their requirement.
“We have lights, mixer grinder, water pump, wet grinder, refrigerator, fan, television and every necessary electrical appliance at our home now. Owning these things were a luxury for us earlier. Not because of affordability, but because of lack of electricity. We don’t want any electricity board to help us now. We have taught them a good lesson without uttering a single word, isn’t it?” said a proud Janardhan, a resident of Chembu.
“I was fed up of living live like cavemen here. No power, no facilities to help in household chores, I would think where am I stuck up? Now I don’t have power cut issues, I never miss my TV serials, use all comfortable devices. Though I’m living in a remote village, I am content. Thanks to gram panchayat and all others who made this happen” said Savitri who came to this village after her wedding.
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