Solar for all?

These days we hear about green and clean energy sources, specifically renewable energy sources like solar. But, if we look at the target audience of these 'projects', it is either rural poor whose villages are unelectrified or we speak of new urban structures incorporating the same.

What lies in between or rather who lie in between are the urban poor. The rural migrants in cities, with no basic rights (housing, sanitation, electricity, water supply etc). So most often they fail to be a target of development initiatives.

There are plenty of hawkers in Delhi that provide us with basic goods like vegetables and fruits, clothes and other daily commodities. They use conventional sources of lighting like kerosene or pay a daily rent of Rs.20-40 for bulbs and CFLs running on diesel generators and thermal power station supply.

What if they adopt solar lamps? Not only will it make economic sense, it would also in the long run be environment friendly.

To know more about a story of such an intervention, watch this short documentary, tracing an idea of two young Master students:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvZV2tXyy00&feature=youtu.be