Believe or not. It is a fact that more than one lakh households in the State spend every night in dark as they can’t afford to buy kerosene and other oils to illuminate their houses!
The latest Census Report reveals this distressing situation. It also reveals that 10, 000 households use pieces of rubber tyres and burn used lubricants to get light.
With this being backdrop, the State Government has decided to launch a massive programme, ‘Tikiye Aluo’ to distribute 50 lakh solar lanterns and study lamps among the households that depend on kerosene and other means to meet their minimum illumination needs.
“As affordability is a big problem with the poor people, the programme will come as a big respite for them living in far-flung areas of the State,” feels a senior official in the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA).
The Science and Technology department has chalked out the programme to be implemented over a period of five years. Every year 10 lakh lanterns and study lamps will be distributed under the programme.
The lanterns will have a light Emitting Diode (lED) instead of the conventional bulb, sources said.
Unlike Kerosene lanterns, these solar lanterns can be operated at three different levels of illumination-high, bright and bed lamp mode. Onxe full charged, a battery in the lantern can give back-up for 17 hours in high bright mode, 42 hours in bright mode and 300 hours in the bed lamp mode, the officer said
In case the lantern is used in three modes, the battery would give back-up up to 30 to 40 hours, said the Technical Officer. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has also extended its support, said sources in OREDA.
MNRE-specified kits will be made available to the Women Self-help Groups (WSHG) and those will be assembled by them, the officer informed. This would build a large work force in rural areas, said the official.