Step in for a sound solar lesson
Bandra Society Harnesses Sunlight To Power Homes ……..Sukhada Tatke I TNN
Walk into the seven-storeyed Sea Line building in Bandra and you will be greeted with signboards that read water is precious and conserve energy. The messages come alive in the lives led by residents of the building who enjoy a unique distinctionthey run their homes on solar electricity, their waste is used as compost for the gardens in their locality and they make the best possible use of rain water. Whats more, they are teaching these techniques to all those who are willing to learn.
Members of the Union Park Residents Association (UPRA) are now promoting the idea and have launched a campaign called Jaago Mumbai. They will try and communicate these ideas to likeminded people and help them make a difference in reducing global warming. We want many people to come forward and take this as a model for every housing society. It would help save a lot of crucial energy in these difficult times, said Bharati Kakkad, member of the residents association.
The journey was not always smooth. It took a long time to convince others in the building of its usefulness. It was the conviction of 79-yearold Navin Chandra five years ago that made the venture possible. We started with what was simplestvermicompost. All we had to do was make people segregate their dry and wet garbage, keep it outside their homes. The rest was taken care of, said Chandra. The building now has five vermicompost pits from where manure is obtained for plants and trees in their vicinity.
Saving water was next on the agenda. There was water shortage. Some of us got together and thought of rainwater harvesting as the most viable option. After we started charging the rain water, we started having sufficient water in tough times, added Chandra. Now even if there is absolutely no water supply from the BMC, we have water that will be adequate for all the flats on seven floors for a week, added Chandra.
This water is not only used for non-potable purposes such as flushing in toilets, washing vehicles or watering plants. Residents have also set up a small water treatment plant in the building that turns borewell water into potable water. Next, they tapped into solar power. We first set up one solar panel, then we got ambitious and set up another one, then yet another. Now, none of the flats uses geysers. Solar panels heat the water, he said.