Melghat: If all institutions in Maharashtra follow the path taken by Nature Conservation Society, Amravati (NCSA) for the last 8 years in Melghat, we could resolve the climate change crisis, mainly created by coal-fired projects and their products like electricity.
Without looking to the electricity distribution companies like Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) or the state government, NCSA started its energy initiatives in Melghat in 2006 at its Muthawa Community Resource Centre. The Muthawa Centre is situated on 20 acres of private land on Bori-Kotha road, near Harisal in Dharni tahsil of Amravati district.
Initially the centre used biodiesel from mahua oil seed to run the generator, but later started using solar energy to light the LED lamps. Later the Muthawa centre installed its first 'solar-wind' hybrid system in 2013 to run the fans, TV, projector and other equipment along with the LED lights. The wind option was helpful for charging the batteries during the rainy season. However, the centre was still using a generator to bring up the water from the 180 foot deep tubewell, for domestic use as well as to irrigate the crops and horticulture plot.
Today, the Muthawa Community Centre in Melghat inaugurated a solar-driven 5HP irrigation pump to meet its full water requirement - and became completely 'energy-self-reliant'. This is probably the first institution to completely run on 'clean energy' by using non-conventional energy resources.
MLA Dr. Sunil Deshmukh started the 5HP solar irrigation pump in the presence of school students and villagers of Melghat Tiger Reserve. Trustees of NCSA celebrated this occasion with the selected audience.
Farmers in Melghat buffer villages who are tired of erratic electric supply now have reason to smile and can adopt this system to irrigate their fields, said Kishor Rithe, one of the founders of NCSA and the man behind setting up this centre.
NCSA, which has done wildlife conservation and tribal development work for the last 25 years in Melghat, is known for taking modern technology into tribal areas. The NGO has demonstrated a solar-powered submersible pump that can fetch water from a 180 foot deep tube well and can discharge even two inches of water which is sufficient for irrigation.
This is a better solution for farmers in a forested landscape where three-phase supply is available only after 10 pm. Farmers find it difficult to irrigate their agriculture fields after 10 p.m., throughout the night!
Soon this solution will be demonstrated to farmers in the Melghat buffer who are presently irrigating their lands with either diesel pumps or erratic electric supply or without any facility, Rithe stated further.
MLA Dr. Sunil Deshmukh lauded the efforts of NCSA. Working for 25 years in such a hilly, forested landscape with so many positive ideas is itself remarkable, he stated. He also said that the Government of Maharashtra has decided to provide solar irrigation pumps to selected farmers, and the NCSA model will be helpful in educating them about its use.
How does the Solar pump work?
1) NCSA has installed 20 solar plates (PV panels) of total 5000 watt capacity on the roof of a building. The panels are inclined towards a southern direction.
2) There is a controller to maintain output of 440 volt which also acts like a starter
3) A 5 HP submersible pump has been put up 160 feet deep in a tube well. It should be noted here that it does not require any battery to operate the system.
4) The system works only in sunlight, and hence farmers can only irrigate their fields during the day time. The solar pump starts at 9 - 9.30 a.m. and can continuously work till 4 - 4.30 p.m. However NCSA uses the drip-and-sprinkler system to minimize and judiciously use the water.
5) It costs around Rs.3-3.5 lakh.
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