Kundapur: Solar Power Lights up Lives of Rural Students
 
Aishwarya Beejady
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (RD/CN)
 
Kundapur, Sep 22: The benefits of solar energy have reached the remote village of Mavinakaru that lies amidst the dense forests of the Western Ghats range, in the limits of Kollur temple town, near here.  Students who used to study with the help of kerosene lamps are now doing so with the help of bright light from solar table lamps. 

This was made possible by Magsaysay Award winner Dr Harish Hande, managing director, Selco Solar Light Private Limited, due to his concern for rural students under the ‘Light for Education’ project in order to create a new ray of hope in their lives.  It bears 90 percent of the cost while the locals can bear the remaining 10 percent.  This project has been implemented in Mavinakaru School. The company had supplied solar lamps to 35 students including 12 who were studying in Mavinakaru Lower Primary School.  

Mavinakaru is a tiny village that lies 5 kms away from Kollur.  There are 65 families, and a majority of them belong to scheduled tribes. The village lacks the most basic amenities such as roads, drinking water, electricity, and automobiles.  Mavinakaru Lower Primary School is the sole hope for the students in the village.  The students of this village walk miles together to pursue their studies at Kollur.  Meanwhile, walking on dirt tracks in the dense forest is risky as they face threats from wild animals.  The locals fully depend on Kollur for their daily needs.
 
Selco Solar Light Private Limited had chosen Mavinakaru and Halliberu villages in the taluk to implement their project.  Light for Education aims at encouraging rural students to study and Mavinakaru is the first village where this has been implemented.  It has provided solar table lamps to 35 students. Solar panels are installed at Mavinakaru School with provision to charge many smaller batteries.   Charged batteries connected to the table lamp can last for 10 hours.  The students will have to bring the charger when they come to school.  The solar lamp not only helps students to study at home, but has also brought light to their remote village. Local social activist Ramesh Ganiga of Kollur has contributed 10 percent of the cost.
 
“It’s an ambitious project of Dr Hande, managing director of Selco Solar Light Private Limited,” says Shekar Shetty, Kundapur branch manager of Selco Solar.  “It’s the vision of Dr Hande to encourage rural students.  It’s an attempt to bring light to remote villages under the Light for Education project that has been implemented in the electricity deprived villages of Mavinakaru and Halliberu.  The villagers and students are indeed joyous,” he added.
 
‘We have been teaching the students by coming to school, walking miles together for the past 10 years.  There are no basic amenities in the village and we have maintained the grade of education. Light has come to Mavinakaru village because of Selco Solar and this will benefit many rural students in the locality.  Progress is visible in the academic performance of students,” said school headmaster Babu.
 
“The solar lamp in the house has brought light to the families who are living in the dense forest.  It’s a symbol of progress that we have witnessed after many years of Independence,” says local resident Nagaraj.