Solar Energy Brings Electricity to Coastal Village in Odisha

The government is providing solar energy to the families of Charigharia under the Deen Dayal Upadhaya Grameen Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) with the Centre’s help.

For the Charigharia village located inside the Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) in Gupti gram panchayat under Rajnagar block in Odisha, access to electricity was a distant dream. But now under a new initiative by the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA), the 106 households of Charigharia are getting electricity from off-grid solar power systems.

The village had not seen any development as it is located inside the national park and as the forest department used to object to most projects. “There is no road to the village and power distribution lines have not come here. Water is also scarce. Here people lead a simple life of farming, cattle rearing and fishing,” said Babuli Moharana, a villager of Charigharia to PNN.

But finally, the government provided solar energy to the families of Charigharia under the Deen Dayal Upadhaya Grameen Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) with the Centre’s help. OREDA would maintain each household’s solar cells for five years, said Panchanan Tripathy, Assistant Director of OREDA.

The agency has installed three LED bulbs (5 watts), a tube light (18 watts), a solar fan (30 watts) and a mobile phone charger in all homes. Each house has a 200 watts solar module and battery which costs nearly Rs 65,000, Tripathy said.

OREDA has also provided solar power to 28 households in Dolaka village and eight households at Nandagala in Cuttack district, according to Tripathy.