Off-grid power supply to bring remote island in Sundarbans out of the dark

KOLKATA: A sort of wonder is waiting to happen at Ghoramara this weekend. For the first time ever, the remote island in the Sundarbans will light up, with the help of electricity, with the inauguration of an off-grid solar and wind power plant of 180KW capacity there.

The Rs 4-crore project is being funded by the ministry of science and technology and implemented by IIT-Kharagpur experts, who are working under the guidance of solar power expert S P Gon Chuadhuri. Gon Chuadhuri, who prepared the plant's design, was the first to come up with the proposal for solar power for the island.

"Ghoramara in the Sundarbans is an isolated island in South 24-Parganas, with Sagar island on one side and Kakdwip on the other. The island can only be reached by boat. The 5,000-odd people living there don't have electricity, safe drinking water or an internal transport system. Schools function without light or fan," said Gon Chaudhuri. He added the first phase of the project was ready for operation within a couple of days, after which every home on the island would get electricity, drinking water would be supplied through solar-powered pumps, roads would get street lights and the market would be lit up at night.

Gon Chaudhuri said the electricity would also be used to charge battery-operated three-wheelers and electric boats, which would be operational 24x7 to ferry passengers to and from the mainland. "The 180 KW solar and wind power plant will be operated by locals, who will be trained in it. Once commissioned, this will be the largest mini grid system in the country. Only a few families on Ghoramara have personal solar lights, while maximum people use candles and lanterns after dark," Gon Chaudhuri added.


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