Until two years ago, villagers from Kendrapada had never seen light after dark, unless it came from the moon. Then, solar light arrived and changed everything. Today, thanks to light energy captured from the sun, at least ten remote seaside villages of the district will be able to watch the ICC World Cup 2011 live on television. These villages Bagapatia, Okilapala, Ahirajpur, Banipal, Deulasahi, Rangani, and Talachua under Rajnagar block in Kendrapada started getting electricity throughout the night through solar energy with the efforts of Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) of New Delhi.
"TERI, through its programme Light a Billion Lives' provided solar light to villages with a population of about 12,000. The institute spent Rs 2.70 lakh to provide solar light to each village by constructing solar panels with the help of villagers," said Jagabandhu Nayak, former chairman of Rajnagar block. Apart from TERI, the state government also provided solar lights at subsidized rates to many remote seaside villages in Kendrapada. Two years ago, villagers used to depend on kerosene oil-lit lamps to read. Watching television was a dream for them. But solar light transformed these villages to such an extent that they can now watch television at night.
Some of the villagers have installed special DTH antennas and solar panels at a cost of about Rs 3,000 each in order to watch the cricket matches that are telecast on private channels. "The only channel we could watch after the arrival of solar light two years ago was Doordarshan. But the craze of the cricket World Cup compelled us to install special DTH antennas at an extra cost so we can watch the matches," smiled Madn Jena (32), of Banipal village.
The entire nation is in the grip of World Cup fever and people across cities and towns have been glued to their TV sets since the matches kicked off. But power cuts are a way of life in India and cricket fans are often unable to watch the matches because of this problem. In the villages that rely on solar power, however, people are watching TV without any interruptions because there are no power cuts.
There are no proper roads connecting most of the villages. But now they are watching the World Cup live on TV. "I watched the match between Bangladesh and England last night. We were very happy that Bangladesh won," said Arjun Mandal (62) of Batighar village. The villagers cheer their favourite teams and cricketers. As of yet , only 60 people have installed DTH and so large numbers of villagers gather in the houses of DTH TV owners to watch the World Cup matches. "I have placed my television set in the veranda to allow my fellow villagers to watch the matches," said Arabinda Manna of Batighar.
"Many youths of our villages are watching World Cup cricket for the first time and they seem to be loving the game. They have become completely cricket crazy," said Manas Nayak of Okilapala. Although all the villages support India, they are divided when it comes to the other teams. Bangladesh is the most popular team among the immigrants from the country who settled in the remote seaside villages of the district long ago. South Africa, England and Australia are also hot favourites with many villagers. "I felt sorry when South Africa was beaten by England a few days ago," said Madhu Nayak, a fan of the SA team, of Kansarbadadandua village.
"TERI, through its programme Light a Billion Lives' provided solar light to villages with a population of about 12,000. The institute spent Rs 2.70 lakh to provide solar light to each village by constructing solar panels with the help of villagers," said Jagabandhu Nayak, former chairman of Rajnagar block. Apart from TERI, the state government also provided solar lights at subsidized rates to many remote seaside villages in Kendrapada. Two years ago, villagers used to depend on kerosene oil-lit lamps to read. Watching television was a dream for them. But solar light transformed these villages to such an extent that they can now watch television at night.
Some of the villagers have installed special DTH antennas and solar panels at a cost of about Rs 3,000 each in order to watch the cricket matches that are telecast on private channels. "The only channel we could watch after the arrival of solar light two years ago was Doordarshan. But the craze of the cricket World Cup compelled us to install special DTH antennas at an extra cost so we can watch the matches," smiled Madn Jena (32), of Banipal village.
The entire nation is in the grip of World Cup fever and people across cities and towns have been glued to their TV sets since the matches kicked off. But power cuts are a way of life in India and cricket fans are often unable to watch the matches because of this problem. In the villages that rely on solar power, however, people are watching TV without any interruptions because there are no power cuts.
There are no proper roads connecting most of the villages. But now they are watching the World Cup live on TV. "I watched the match between Bangladesh and England last night. We were very happy that Bangladesh won," said Arjun Mandal (62) of Batighar village. The villagers cheer their favourite teams and cricketers. As of yet , only 60 people have installed DTH and so large numbers of villagers gather in the houses of DTH TV owners to watch the World Cup matches. "I have placed my television set in the veranda to allow my fellow villagers to watch the matches," said Arabinda Manna of Batighar.
"Many youths of our villages are watching World Cup cricket for the first time and they seem to be loving the game. They have become completely cricket crazy," said Manas Nayak of Okilapala. Although all the villages support India, they are divided when it comes to the other teams. Bangladesh is the most popular team among the immigrants from the country who settled in the remote seaside villages of the district long ago. South Africa, England and Australia are also hot favourites with many villagers. "I felt sorry when South Africa was beaten by England a few days ago," said Madhu Nayak, a fan of the SA team, of Kansarbadadandua village.
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