Ghoramara turns India’s 1st solar island with 170 KWH power plant

Kolkata: Ghoramara Island in the Sunderbans has become the country's first solar island with a 170 KWH solar and wind power plant, India's largest, that has started functioning at full capacity. About 650 families on the island will now get electricity, drinking water, high solar lighting, electric three-wheeler charging stations, a 24-hour electric boat service, and street lights. Funded by the ministry of science and technology, the plant was set up by experts from IIT Kharagpur and CMERI Durgapur, under the guidance of solar power expert Santi Pada Gon Chaudhuri, the chairman of the committee set up for the project."Ghoramara is an isolated island in the South 24 Parganas, with Sagar Island on one side and Kakdwip on the other, with a population of 5,000. Until now, only a few families on the island used personal solar lights. The others depended on candles or kerosene lanterns," Gon Chaudhuri said.Gon Chaudhuri, along with the project executing team, visited Ghoramara on Saturday, when the committee gave the green signal for the plant to function at full capacity. The plant has been handed over to the local panchayat authorities for operation. "The island residents will have to pay Rs 70 per month to the local panchayat to avail of solar power. For local stores, the amount is Rs 100 per month," Gon Chaudhuri said.Toto driver S K Diljan said he could consume 100 watts daily for five hours. Villager Samsuddin Seikh has started paying Rs 60 a month to avail of 100 watts and mobile charging. "As of now, 650 families benefit from the project from 5 pm to 10 pm daily. In a separate project, a process has started to provide home lighting to another 450 families," said Ambia Khatun Bibi, pradhan, Ghoramara GP.(Inputs Sudipto Das)