Bhubaneswar, Oct 2 (IANS): Barapitha, a tribal hamlet on the outskirts of Odisha's capital, has become the first solar village of the state, a statement issued here on Friday said.

The solar project was inaugurated on Friday by Nalco CMD Tapan Kumar Chand in the presence of Inspector General of Police Joydeep Nayak, Khurdha collector Niranjan Sahoo, and Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police S. Bhoi.

"While today green energy has become a buzz word, the vision behind such an innovative initiative was to enhance the usage of non-conventional energy sources in households," Chand said.

Nayak said that under this project, each household of the village would possess two solar home-lighting systems with the facility to charge mobile phones and other devices.

The village roads and school would also have perennial solar lighting.

The village community centre has been provided with a dish antenna-enabled LED TV, which runs on solar power, added the Nalco statement.