Solar electrification for power-starved tribal communities in Karnataka

Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) has joined hands with Mindtree Foundation and SELCO Foundation to bring solar electrification to about 75 families of Alanahalli Hadi and Kudagi Hadi in B. Matakere gram panchayat of H.D. Kote taluk in Mysuru district

Families in tribal settlements on the fringes of Bandipur and Nagarhole forests have been enduring power scarcity for a long time. Even if their hamlets are electrified, not all families have the financial resources to pay the bill and retain the connection. In any case, the existing connections are afflicted by not only power outages for over 16 hours a day, but also voltage fluctuation and technical snags, particularly during the rainy season.

Hence, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) has joined hands with Mindtree Foundation and SELCO Foundation to bring solar electrification to these tribal communities. As part of the project, about 75 families of Alanahalli Hadi and Kudagi Hadi in B. Matakere gram panchayat of H.D. Kote taluk in Mysuru district received solar lamps and solar water heaters. Six solar powered street lamps were also installed in the two tribal settlements when the project was inaugurated on October 21, just before the Deepavali celebrations.

According to sources in SVYM, many families in the tribal hamlets do not have an electricity connection. A few would have have lost the connection as they were unable to pay the bills. Even the ones that have an electricity connection face outages that extend up to 16 hours a day.

For cooking and light, many tribal families resort to forest resources like dry wood, exposing them to the possibility of encountering wild animals, like big cats and elephants. Children of the tribal settlements are not able to study after sunset.

SVYM hopes solar electrification of the community will reduce the animal-human conflict in these areas and offer safety at night with street lamps and ample light. Families in other solar electrified tribal hamlets have benefited from this move and have engaged in income generation activities due to uninterrupted power supply. SVYM will distribute low-cost boilers, which use less wood fuel, among families in the two hamlets.

The initiative is part of a project taken up by SVYM and Mindtree Foundation to create a model gram panchayat at B. Matakere in H.D. Kote taluk through a ‘human and social capital development project’.