Koraput : Women of Putsil, a small tribal village at an altitude of 1,150 m above sea level in Koraput district, are no more worried that they should come back home to complete their household works before sunset. Now they have time to attend to household chores leisurely, discuss with friends, watch TV and so on. A micro-hydro plant set up by the local NGO, WIDA, in association with the villagers, has turned their dream into a reality. Given the distance of the village to the district headquarters or even to the block headquarters and to the nearest power station, it would have remained a distant dream for the villagers to get electricity to light their houses. But the micro hydro plant, established in 1998, has brought about remarkable changes in Putsil, Masur Santa, village head, said.

Establishment of the plant was preceded by intense interaction with the community for two years, Benudhar Sutar, the technology coordinator of WIDA added. The Putsil Micro Hydro Plant Committee comprising 21 members, including six women, manages power generation and distribution.

Six groups

The consumers were divided into six groups and each group was assigned specific tasks such as repair, catchment area management and related works, he said. The community contributed about Rs.2.13 lakhs in the form of labour towards the establishment of the plant. As a result of collective approach, the accuracy of the timing of power supply, collection of charges from consumers, compensation for services to operate the plant and other end use machineries have set an example for others to follow.

Since 1998, each family has been paying Rs.20 on an average per month towards electricity fund. The arrangement is so flexible that one can pay less during lean season and more when one is able. For the family use, the electricity is supplied from 6 pm in the evening to 11 pm in the night; again from 3 am to 8 am in the morning, Jayram, engineer said. Initially, two youths from the village were trained to run the plant.

Unlike in neighbouring villages, the village community centre has a computer and a TV set while about 10 families in the village have their own TV sets, he added. There is a mill run on the electricity made available from this hydro project. Apart from helping people to grind and milling of paddy and ragi, the mill helps in community income - out of each rupee, 0.50 paise goes to the community fund. A group of women in the village has plans to augment the income by processing products in the mill. They would start marketing dal and oil through apex women's federation, Kete Jani, leader of the women group said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail