Sixty-seven households were provided lamps under solar electrification project.
He is no Shah Rukh Khan from the film Swades, nor is he young or foreign-returned. But, at 70, this ‘Pune ka mama’ has won many hearts by lighting up 67 households of a poor tribal community in the remote Hangrum village in Haflong taluka of Assam.
The villagers, who had been relying on kerosene lamps for light, were filled with joy when a retired Bajaj Auto manager, Arun Ganesh Saraswate, undertook a solar electrification project in the North-East. A resident of Dapodi in Pune, Saraswate, who is fondly called ‘Pune ka mama’ by the tribals, raised Rs3.77 lakh through donations from 88 Puneites for his project.
Speaking to DNA, he said, “I have been visiting Assam since my retirement in 2003 and have been teaching the tribal students studying in hostels run by Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram in the North-East.”
While teaching these students, Saraswate faced frequent power cuts due to heavy downpour, strong winds or other natural disturbances. Concerned about the problem of power outages in the village, he donated two solar lamps to two tribal girls pursuing their matriculation. Soon Saraswate was approached by the villagers, who requested him to provide them with solar lamps too.
“Living in one of the most prosperous parts of the country, I understood their need for light at night. But being a retired person, I could not afford to donate the lamps,” he said.
Moved by the villagers’ plight, Saraswate, in 2008, urged the villagers to raise funds for a solar electrification project through a community initiative and promised to raise the rest of the funds through donations from Pune.
Since Haflong is a hilly region, where the rainy season lasts nearly seven months, Saraswate took two types of solar lamps to Assam and finally selected the more sturdy one of the two. While the tribals collected Rs69,000, Saraswate raised Rs3.77 lakh through donations by 88 Puneites.
“Each solar lamp consists of one solar panel with a lifespan of 25 years, one LED (light-emitting diode) lamp with the capacity of one lakh working hours and a rechargeable battery with two-year durability,” Saraswate said.
After successfully completing the project, Saraswate returned to Pune and organised a get-together of all the donors on February 19 at the MES Bhave High School here. He thanked the donors profusely for helping light up several homes in a remote Assam village, and also the souls of the villagers.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}