Pramod Madhwaraj declares Amasebail as first solar GP of Udupi district
Kundapur: “If youngsters come forward and give their 100%, it will not be very difficult to implement solar energy in Karnataka or in India. But the question is how many youngsters are ready to do such hard work,” said Magsaysay award-winner and also president of Selco India Dr H Harish Hande.
He was delivering the keynote address during the announcement of Amasebail has 100% solar village. The programme was organized by Amasebailu Charitable trust Kundapur here on Thursday, April 27 at the Amasebail government high school grounds.
All of us are equally responsible for the ills in the society and blaming the government or the authorities for everything will not help. He also gave an overview of how his initiative of providing solar powered lighting in villages has transformed the lives of thousands and this has happened without the intervention of the government. He made the audience aware that we need to work towards those objectives that we think will bring changes in the lives of people around us.
Instead of energy security, the country should aim at energy independence. Renewable sources of energy, including solar power and wind power, should be given priority. The potential of solar energy should be tapped to its optimum in the country. The country should aim at energy independence by 2020. The country should take Karnataka as a model and our youngsters should come forward to take out this model across the country through awareness programmes, he added.
Pramod Madhwaraj state minister for Fisheries, Youth service and sports and also udupi district minister in-charge inaugurated the programme by lighting the lamp.
In his message Pramod Madhwaraj applauded the efforts of A G Kodgi in Amasebailu becoming the first solar village in the district. Like senior leaders A G Kodgi is a role model for today’s youngsters. The State government has generated 1750 MW of solar power to the State grid in the last four years. The State Government has amended its 2014-18 Solar Policy and set an ambitious target for solar power generation at 2,000 MW by 2018. The state government is already encouraging solar plants in a big way in Bengaluru, he added.
A G Kodgi president of the Amasebail Charitable Trust in his introductory remarks said that the Amasebail GP comprised three villages — Amasebail, Rattady, and Machattu — which have 1,872 houses.
While 1,000 houses have been provided with four solar lamps, 497 houses have been provided with two solar lamps. The remaining 375 houses already have solar lamps owing to previous schemes. The cost of installing two solar lamps is Rs. 9,900, while it is Rs 16,000 for four lamps. The beneficiaries have to pay Rs. 3,000 for two lamps and Rs. 6,000 for four solar lamps. The total cost of installing solar lamps in these 1,497 houses was Rs. 2.13 crore.
The SELCO Solar Light Private Ltd., selected through e-Tender, was entrusted the work of installing the solar lamps.
As per the tender conditions, the company has given a guarantee of five years for the solar lamps and will undertake half-yearly maintenance and replace faulty lamps.
The installation of solar lamps to 1,497 houses, which was taken up on May 2016, has been completed in three phases, he said.
Chandrashekar Rao General manager Karnataka Bank, Ananthakrishna Bhat former president Karnataka Bank, Pratap Chandra Shetty MLC, Shilpa Nag assistant commissioner Kundapur, Haladi Srinivas Shetty MLA Kundapura, Jayalaxmi president Amasebailu Grama Panchayat, Jyothi Poojary member TP, Thimmappa headmaster Amasebailu government high school, T Chandrashekar Shetty president agricultural co-operative society Ullooru-Machattu, Naveenchandra Shetty president agricultural co-operative society, Amasebailu, Appanna Hegde former MLA, K M Udupa of Bharathiya Vikas Trust and others were present.