BRIGHTER OPTIONS

Ranchi, Dec. 1 Indicator lights are now illuminating homes of the remote Jarga village in Angara block.

Technically known as light-emitting diodes (LED), usually found on electronic devices — from personal computers to watches and calculators — they are now the backbone of Jarga, located around 32km from the thermal power-run state capital.

“We wanted to replace the crude kerosene lamps used by villagers, increase the output of light generated at a lower cost. After extensive research, we have grouped around 36 to 40 LED bulbs together in a specially-designed dome-shaped lamp which emits half-a-watt of light,” Ajoy Kumar Basu, the director of Society for Rural Industrialisation (SRI), Ranchi said.

What inspired them was the election symbol (a kerosene lamp) of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. They wanted to build a low-cost product, which would replace crude lamps but prove to be ideal for use at homes. Thus, the Government of India funded project came into being.

The team learnt that a kerosene lamp, which costs about Rs 60, consumes about two litres of oil per month. With the public distribution system still a distant dream in remote villages, locals paid anything between Rs 15 and Rs 20 per litre of kerosene, that came to an average cost of Rs 40 per month per lamp.

But what takes LEDs ahead of kerosene lamps, is that they have no electronic circuits, whereas kerosene lamps emit about 18W to 20W. However, LEDs are so designed that the light output remains concentrated over a diameter of three to four feet unlike the kerosene lamps, where light output is unsteady and unfocused.

“A lamp costs around Rs 200. Each lamp is fitted with a rechargeable battery that needs to be charged every day. A solar-powered central charging system has also been installed at Jarga, where a lamp can be recharged at a cost of Re 1 per day. The total monthly cost works out to Rs 30, Rs 10 less than what villagers shell out on two litres of kerosene oil,” Basu explained.

SRI further guarantees a battery life of two years, as compared to the six-month guarantee provided by other lamp manufacturers. The group has made concentrated efforts to spread LED use in Jarga. About 84 households of the village, which comprises 280 families and is divided into 12 tolas, are using light-emitting diodes.

The Union government recently arranged a business remote training programme at SRI campus at Bariatu, too.