After two complete terms as Chief Minister there would be no excuse for inability to take up developmental works, Chief Minister, O Ibobi Singh repeatedly said after he took oath as Chief Minister for the third consecutive term. The state goverment should not think big to solve the problems. Everything has to be done by methodically working out a solution conducive to the environment. Power is one problem. Three to four hours a day will push the state backward. Pre paid schemes are taken up now. It is a good step. People should pay for what has been given to them and the same rule applies to the government machineries as government offices do not regularly pay taxes. Small hydro projects will solve lots of problems. Solar power is becoming popular but it is beyond the reach of the common people. The state government should make solar projects reach the common people rather than giving the solar equipments to senior officials who can afford to buy it in the market. People will learn to be good citizens once things go on smoothly. Nothing is working well in the power department now under the direct control of the chief Minister. Transformers, electric wires, poles, meter all need to be replaced and it should not become a gold mine for contractors but a means to help the people. We should also take a cue from the project taken up at Sundervan area. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), in collaboration with the Centre for Appropriate Technology Incorporated (CAT) and Projects Australia is setting up a solar power station in the Rajat Jubilee village in Sunderban area of West Bengal.WWF official Anurag Danda, said that that they took up this task to address the power woes of the villagers.”Sustaining these power stations in the remote locations without grid connectivity is quite challenging. CAT, Projects Australia, and WWF India, collaborated and Project Australia tapped into the funds that were made available by the Australian government under the Asia Pacific Partnership for Clean Development Mechanism. It took us about 13 months to work out the details with the community,” he said.The power station is being managed by the villagers and is governed by a group of council members who take the decisions regarding its maintenance.Currently, there are a total of 57 consumers and solar energy is used to light up 10 streetlights and 3 community building, and everybody still gets 200 watts of power per minute.The batteries are kept in the power station and are recharged every evening on the payment of monthly rental of Rs.125.Danda added that the villagers were trained to operate the system.” Community members went through an energy education programme. They are able to calculate how much which equipment consumes and therefore they budgeted for a 24 hour period,” he said.
The villagers expressed happiness due to uninterrupted power supply.”Earlier, due to frequent power cuts, children were not able to study. However, now they are able to study late in the evening. Power generation has made people less dependent on kerosene , diesel and petrol which is good for the environment. Kerosene is not available in Manipur and many admit most of the state quota are taken away by various oil depots to be mixed up with petrol and diesel. The administration has yet to do something good worth admiration and applause. People will appreciate all good steps taken up by the government.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/power-plants/
