Massive shortfalls have made power cuts a frequent, long-lasting and painful part of our daily lives. But lone warriors like Siddappa and evangelists like Anil P. Joshi are trying hard to make power cuts a thing of the past in the future. Exclusive report and photos by TSI's N K Suprabha
When life is enveloped in darkness, can you dream of light at the end of the tunnel? Farmer Siddappa, who has lit up his modest dwelling in Somapura village of Karnataka’s Gadag district with a self-invented wind power unit, has proved that you can. All you need is a bit of innovation.
Less than 400 kilometers away, India’s IT hub Bangalore is grappling with a severe power crisis. Siddappa, a poor, unlettered peasant who lives in a remote rural zone that has no electricity, has harnessed the wind to generate his own power. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
“My hut was like a dark dungeon – no light would ever enter it. We had to light a kerosene lamp even during the day. And then kerosene became scarce. My children found it difficult to do their homework,” says Siddappa, explaining the motivation behind the creation of his home-grown power generation unit.
He is a minor celebrity in the area for his is the only house among 37 dwelling units here that has electricity. What’s more, Siddappa doesn’t have to pay any power bills nor does he have to suffer outages. His windmill, mounted on a tree in his farm, has blessed him with light.
Siddappa, in his 40s, has had to slog for years and deplete his savings in this voyage from darkness to light. His windmill is a true marvel. The four wings of the contraption are made of metal sheets and fixed to a tree. The wings revolve when the wind blows and, magically, light up Siddappa’s house and life. “It took me 10 years and Rs 5000 to realise my dream,” says Siddappa, clambering on to the tree to explain how his invention works.
“The government would not give power connection to a house which is so far away from the main road and stood alone in an isolated farm. There are several other lone houses in this region which are still deprived of electricity” says Siddappa’s wife, Bheemavva.
She recalls: “I would often harangue him for wasting his time. But he was single-minded in his pursuit. There were times when he wouldn’t come back home at night. He kept chipping away. We now understand why he was so obsessed.”
A power unit that sits atop an adjoining hill was Siddappa’s inspiration. He would climb up to watch the plant – it is owned by a multinational power company – and figure out how wind power really worked. Once he got the hang of things, he embarked upon his mission.
When life is enveloped in darkness, can you dream of light at the end of the tunnel? Farmer Siddappa, who has lit up his modest dwelling in Somapura village of Karnataka’s Gadag district with a self-invented wind power unit, has proved that you can. All you need is a bit of innovation.
Less than 400 kilometers away, India’s IT hub Bangalore is grappling with a severe power crisis. Siddappa, a poor, unlettered peasant who lives in a remote rural zone that has no electricity, has harnessed the wind to generate his own power. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
“My hut was like a dark dungeon – no light would ever enter it. We had to light a kerosene lamp even during the day. And then kerosene became scarce. My children found it difficult to do their homework,” says Siddappa, explaining the motivation behind the creation of his home-grown power generation unit.
He is a minor celebrity in the area for his is the only house among 37 dwelling units here that has electricity. What’s more, Siddappa doesn’t have to pay any power bills nor does he have to suffer outages. His windmill, mounted on a tree in his farm, has blessed him with light.
Siddappa, in his 40s, has had to slog for years and deplete his savings in this voyage from darkness to light. His windmill is a true marvel. The four wings of the contraption are made of metal sheets and fixed to a tree. The wings revolve when the wind blows and, magically, light up Siddappa’s house and life. “It took me 10 years and Rs 5000 to realise my dream,” says Siddappa, clambering on to the tree to explain how his invention works.
“The government would not give power connection to a house which is so far away from the main road and stood alone in an isolated farm. There are several other lone houses in this region which are still deprived of electricity” says Siddappa’s wife, Bheemavva.
She recalls: “I would often harangue him for wasting his time. But he was single-minded in his pursuit. There were times when he wouldn’t come back home at night. He kept chipping away. We now understand why he was so obsessed.”
A power unit that sits atop an adjoining hill was Siddappa’s inspiration. He would climb up to watch the plant – it is owned by a multinational power company – and figure out how wind power really worked. Once he got the hang of things, he embarked upon his mission.
No comments:
Post a Comment