A village like no other

Prolonged power cuts imposed by the State government do not seem to bother Shukravadi, a remote village, in Kalaburagi district. Children and elders continue their activities — be it homework, embroidery or chitchat — even after sunset. The solar-enabled lights that illuminate the streets of the village make people feel comfortable outside their houses even during the night. Shukravadi is all set to go down in history as the first village of the State to get solar electrification for all its streets. It has brought a sea change in the village that was once considered as one of the most backward villages of the region owing to the lack of basic infrastructure like road and sanitation.

Lights for all
Though the village had access to electricity, even before the introduction of solar lighting, it was rarely felt due to frequent load shedding. Recently, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department has set up 50 solar street lights in the village at a cost of Rs 15 lakh. Bengaluru-based Deepa Solar Systems, upon contract, worked as the implementing agency of the gram panchayat and it is given the responsibility of maintaining the entire system for five years. The villagers appreciate the efficient execution of the installation work by the firm.

Solar panels have been installed on the rooftop of a building of gram panchayat which is located opposite the Hanuman Temple. Centralised solar unit, with a capacity of 4 kW, is stationed inside this building. The system is automatic where the lights get switched on at six in the evening and glow till six in the morning. The State government also plans to extend this programme to villages in Gadag, Mysuru, Bagalakote and Haveri districts.

The village has about 150 houses with a population of over 1,200. One anganwadi centre and a higher primary school cater to the primary educational needs of children, after which they have to walk seven km to the nearby Aland high school.

The village, which is 60 km away from Kalaburagi, was in the news a few years ago for its sincere efforts towards achieving sanitation for all. Though some of the villagers didn’t favour the idea of having toilets initially, gram panchayat member Baburao Patil, who was then the president of the panchayat, made it a point to convince them.

In the process, he made the offer of providing a solar light to each house with a toilet. Infosys Foundation, which supported the sanitation programme under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan initiative, liked his idea and helped him publicise it. Thus, toilets were constructed by every household. The estimated cost of each toilet is about Rs 30,000. Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan contributed Rs 4,700 while Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme and Infosys contributed Rs 5,400 and Rs 8,000 respectively. The rest of the amount was borne by the beneficiary households. The project got completed in 2014.

“Later we realised that streetlights are more feasible and useful than having one light per house. Even villagers agreed to it. It is also a coincidence that what I proposed has come true through a different programme,” said Baburao. Villagers acknowledge Baburao and his team’s dedicated efforts in leading the village in a progressive path.