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1.: An Uttaranchali (retired) Mechanic brings light to his village (khor From: Mukund Dhoundiyal

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1.: An Uttaranchali (retired) Mechanic brings light to his village (khor

Posted by: "Mukund Dhoundiyal" mldhoundiyal@grouply.com mldhoundiyal

Sat May 31, 2008 7:04 am (PDT)

*Mechanic brings light to his village*
**
*By Raju Gusain in Khor (Rudraprayag)*
**

** ** *NO MOTORABLE road, primary health centre, government- supplied
electricity, post office or telephone! Khor village in Rudraprayag,
Uttarakhand, is like other remote villages in the state. But the successful
experiment of producing electricity through awatermill (gharat )by a retired
Border Roads Organisations (BRO) senior mechanic, Pushkar Singh Bhandari,
make Khor special. *
**
*Bhandaris efforts have brought light in the village where government
electricity lines have not reached so far. He has used his watermill in an
innovative way to light the houses of about 40 families for the past 12
years. Bhandari tapped water near the village and took it to his watermill
through asmall canal by installing pipes. In 1996, Bhandari set up
awatermill in the village. *
**
*On Diwali that year, the villagers lit up their homes with the power supply
provided by Bhandari. The 60- year- old says: "Earlier villagers used to
travel 2km on foot to grind the grains. After retiring from BRO, Iset up
awatermill, 200 metres from my village. Iwas amazed to see that the mill can
grind 30 kg wheat per hour. This made me believe that Icould generate
electricity through my watermill. I worked as a mechanic and also obtained
knowledge on electricity during my 28 years of service." Bhandari spent
money from his retirement pension. *
**
*He bought an alternator from Rishikesh and an electric load control from
Saharanpur. He designed ahorizontal turbine with 24 blades to produce about
5kilowatt of electricity. He spent Rs 35,000, fixing electric lines on
wooden poles. Bacchi Ram Dhyani, an 80- year- old from the neighbouring
Dangi village, recalling the 1996 Diwali, said: "People from neighbouring
villages came to Khor. *
**
*Many old people saw electricity for the first time in their life." As a
token maintenance charge, Bhandari charges each family Rs 50 per month. He
provides electricity for six hours —from 6pm to midnight and rest of the
time the watermill grinds foodgrains. During wedding ceremonies, he charges
Rs 300 to 500 for three nights, for supplying electricity. Due to shortage
of water the electric supply remains suspended in summer for three months.
From April to June bright sunshine prevails and the villagers use solar
power instead. *
**
*Last year the Alternate Hydro Energy Centre conducted tested the turbine
made by Bhandari. The IIT team recorded 4.73 kilowatt output. Bhandari is
happy to share his expertise with others. He has helped many villagers in
setting up watermills with micro hydro centres at places such as Ghinthana,
Jakhnayali, Ghulteer, Raidi, Rodu Sirsoli, Matthyagoan, Bhiri, Silgoat,
Bioghat and Lamgoan. The government has decided to install electricity poles
in Khor. Power is likely to reach here by 2009.*

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