DEHRADUN: After
Missras Patti
, which became first energy-efficient gram sabha (of Sahaspur block in
Dehradun
district) in the country, all the 250 households in Pathari village of Haridwar too have been installed with LED bulbs manufactured by villagers, jail inmates and students of The Doon School and Welham Girls School with the help of an organization, Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation (
SPEC
).
Vipin Kumar, a resident of Pathari village, said, “All the 250 families which have become energy efficient today are those that were rehabilitated in Pathari from
New Tehri
where our land was submerged to build a dam several years ago. The money saved from switching over 100 watt bulb to 7 watt LED build would mean a lot to us.”
Brij Mohan Sharma, president of SPEC, said, “In
Missra Patti
, total 1035 LED bulb would save 96255 watt, which means saving of 96 units/hour and 1728 units in five hours/day, 210240 units in a year, thus saving Rs eight lakh for the villagers. People of Pathari too would save money on the same lines.”
Rajesh Majumdar, head of sciences of The Doon School, told TOI, “Out of 870 projects received from India, my project on LED bulbs, 'Lighting up Lives’ was one of the two projects selected by the US government for grants two years ago. The project touched upon three facets: climate change, women empowerment and skill development. It was by saving energy and reducing e-waste as the villagers are trained to repair and use same bulb for two-three years, less pressure was exerted on environment. Women are empowered and skill was developed with the training. It was from December 2016 to June 2017 when around 150 people from 27 states were trained with the help of SPEC in Dehradun.”
He said the project of “electrification with LED bulbs of all seven villages of Missras Patti, the first in the country, started from July last year when two Doon students volunteered to raise funds to carry forward the project.” Welham girls school too got involved.
Jai Sharma, founder president of JOY where students of various colleges too contributed in bulb making, said, “It costs Rs 50 in assembling various related parts to make an LED bulb and, even if it is sold at Rs 70, the price at which LED is sold at outlets of state power corporation department, unemployed villagers can easily earn at least Rs 20 with each bulb and earn dignified livelihood.”
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