Dargah panel wants more subsidy for solar unit

AJMER: After taking care of the water and installing a solar power plant above "mehfilkhana", the dargah authorities are now planning to solve the power situation, by taking the eco route.
The solar project, sanctioned by the conventional power resources ministry, has started functioning and is producing 10 KV daily. This is saving a lot of money and has reduced the power bill by at least 25%.But more needs to be done as the authorities are still paying around Rs 4 lakh per month. The dargah panel plans to write to the ministry to increase the subsidy to help enhance the solar power project.
"The project is not only eco-friendly and has a capacity to produce 20 KV daily, but we are just tapping 10 KV in the preliminary phase," said Ahmed Raza, a nazim.
It was sanctioned by union minister Farooq Abdullah. Farooq and his son Omar Abdullah visit the shrine regularly. The Centre had sanctioned Rs 50 lakh earlier to make the dargah in Ajmer and the Brahma temple in Pushkar water sufficient.
In first phase, the committee had renovated the jhalara' and now it holds around 55 to 60 lakh litres of water. "Traces of fluoride are present in the water but it is filtered for the devotees. Last year there was no shortage of water in the shrine," added Raza.
Jhalara is an open pit which contains rain water from the nearby Aravalli ranges. It was left to rot for several years and was being used as a waste dump but the dargah authorities have put it to good use," said a resident.