Nitish Kumar's village votes for decentralised renewable energy

| Last updated less than one minute ago

Submit :

News Photos Just In Debate Topic Latest News Articles Local News Blog Posts Pictures Reviews Recipes

sraj

16 October, 2010

THE ONGOING Urja Kranti Yatra received widespread support for its slogan for clean and sustainable energy in Kalyan Bigha, Chief Ministerial candidate Nitish Kumar's village today.

Villagers joined Greenpeace to install a solar street lamp outside Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh Smriti Vatika, a memorial Nitish Kumar built for his parents, to send him a message to support renewable energy solutions to lift Bihar out of energy poverty if he were to be elected to power again.

“In spite of being electrified on paper and having nine transformers in our village, we are receiving only two to four hours of electricity per day. Due to successive draughts in the region, the irrigation systems have dried up and we have been forced to depend on costly diesel run generators to irrigate our fields,” said Awadhesh Kumar, resident of Kalyan Bigha, present at the public meeting organised by Greenpeace.

“The Urja Kranti Yatra has already reached out to about 30 panchayat members representing more than five lakh people in its journey through five districts. Energy is amongst the biggest problems faced by Bihar today but it has received the least priority by candidates during election campaigning so far. We demand a comprehensive road map on energy from the political class in Bihar, which will involve decentralised renewable energy as a major approach for energy access and rural electrification”, said M P Sinha of Janhit Vikas Samiti and member of Bihar Renewable Energy Development Support Network (BREDSN).

The Urja Kranti Yatra had begun its journey from the Gandhi Ashram at Bhitiharwa, West Champaran to mobilise village panchayats, youth leaders and local collectives to demand quick, quality access to sustainable power that can be delivered through local renewable energy solutions. The yatra which was flagged off by Greenpeace along with a coalition of civil society groups under the banner of BREDSN, reached Harnaut after successful events at Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Araria and Bhagalpur.

“The Yatra aims to make people's representatives understand the merits of renewable energy, so that they can demand their political candidates and parties to include it in their agenda during these crucial Assembly Elections in Bihar. We are in Kalyan Bigha to send out a message to Nitish Kumar that people in your village are demanding reliable and sustainable energy. The centralised approach is failing and that is why the government needs to look at decentralised renewable approaches,” asked Brikesh Singh, Campaigner, Greenpeace India.