PATNA: Residents of Khairahni and Majuraha villages located near Harnatar range of Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve are set to enjoy brighter evenings. Courtesy, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), these villagers would soon have access to solar lanterns which they can hire at nominal rates.
TERI under its ‘Lighting a billion lives’ has decided to set up solar charging points in the said villages with each point to have 60 solar lanterns which villagers could hire.
One from among villagers would be given the responsibility of running the charging points which would also provide facility for mobile charging. While part of the income from these points would be used for maintenance work, the remaining work would be given to the person who would run these charging points, TERI research associate Jarnail Singh, who is looking after the project being implemented in many tiger reserves across the country, told TOI over phone on Tuesday.
TERI has entered into agreement with different organisations working in these tiger reserves, for implementing the project, and in case of Valmiki, it has roped in services of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) for implementing the project.
“This project is going to be very helpful in reducing incidents of man-animal conflict as the bright light of solar lanterns, which would be used by the villagers, would work as deterrent for wild animals as these animals avoid coming close to bright light,†WTI assistant manager Samir Kumar Sinha said.
He said provision of light during evening hours would also allow villagers to use their evening hours in productive work, which in turn, would help reduce their dependence on forest.
TERI also plans to use this project as a means of awareness generation for conserving flora and fauna among residents living in and around tiger reserves. Those manning the solar charging points, who would be called ‘Prakash Dut’, would be trained for this purpose, Singh said.