Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli, MLA, inaugurated the first solar power-based irrigation pumpset in the field of Bandeppa Kote, a farmer, in Kolar-Khurd village in Bidar taluk on Tuesday.
“Solar power can be the saviour of farmers in rural areas that are hit by power scarcity,” the Minister said. He noted that Bidar had nearly 300 days of sunshine and farmers could benefit from it. He asked farmers not to worry about the high initial investment as maintenance charges were near zero and a unit would pay for itself in a few years. Solar units being installed now have a battery unit that stores energy to be used in days of low sunshine, he said.
Mr. Nagamarapalli, who is also the president of the district central cooperative bank, said the bank would provide low interest loans to farmers who planned to install solar power-based IP sets. “We are even considering including this in the zero interest loan scheme for farmers,” he said.
D. K. Sidram, former zilla panchayat member, and others were present.
