The sun powers irrigation pump sets here

The State government’s ambitious project ‘Surya Raitha’, which helps farmers to generate electricity to run their irrigation pump (IP) sets, was inaugurated at Harobele in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagaram district on Friday. Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj H.K. Patil inaugurated the project and emphasised the need for the Union government and other States to follow in the footsteps of the Karnataka government. Surya Raitha, a first-of-its-kind project in the country, is being implemented on a pilot basis in the district. It also ensures earnings to farmers by selling excess energy generated through solar panels to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company, he said. The government is committed to making Karnataka open defecation-free and supplying safe and pure drinking water in rural areas, Mr. Patil said. Minister for Energy D.K. Shivakumar said the State government was tapping renewable solar energy sources to increase the level of consumption of green energy in Karnataka. Solar park The department has set up the world’s largest solar park at Pavagada in Tumakuru district, he said. Surya Raitha was implemented at a cost of ₹24 crore at Harobele. Currently, 310 IP sets are getting electricity under the scheme. Source: The Hindu