1,704 hamlets to be electrified through non-conventional sources

Agartala, Nov 6 : The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has agreed to provide financial support to 8,719 remote villages of 10 states, including 1,704 hamlets in the Northeast in the current fiscal.

State Science and Technology Minister Joy Gobinda Debroy told UNI here today that the ministry will support to develop infrastructure for facilitating electrification through non-conventional sources of energy.

According to plan, renewable energy technologies used for this purpose include solar photovoltaic home-lighting systems and decentralised small hydro and biomass gasification systems.Besides, 1,485 villages in Asom and 14 in Manipur, 205 villages of remote villages of Tripura will be electrified under the programme. It was estimated that around 31.7 billion units of electrical energy will be generated annually for feeding into the grid through 13,450 MW of power generation capacity from various renewable energy sources in the 10 states.

Debroy attributed that under Remote Village Electrification (RVE) programme, proposals were received from the state governments, for financial support for creation of facilities for lighting/basic electricity through renewable energy sources in eligible remote un-electrified villages and hamlets including tribal villages.

Implementation of renewable energy programme is routinely monitored at different levels and will be carried out by the officers implementing the programme themselves, or, through other independent agencies, he added.

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Great Indian Rock pulls crowd

Shillong, Nov 6 : Integral in the contemporary explosion of innovative and original music in the country, the Great Indian Rock Festival held in ‘rock-city’ Shillong saw a huge turnout of music lovers today.

The Shillong crowd went frenzy with live acts from Delhi, Mumbai and Norway performing for the first time in ‘music-savvy’ Shillong. Enthralling original rock numbers from bands – Lucid Recess from Guwahati, Scribe and Undying Inc. from New Delhi and Bhayanak Maut from Mumbai had Shillongiites overwhelmed.

First timers – Sahg, a Norwegian classic melodic metal band, wooed the audience with its songs mostly based on mystic and mythical themes. “Our songs also deal with issues of racial discrimination and other political problems prevalent in Norway,” said vocalist Olav.
The band was impressed with the ‘exotic’ nature of Shillong and the clean air which they felt was just like back home in Norway.

The Great Indian Rock festival which began 13 years ago was always organized in the capital – New Delhi.

However, with organizational support from Seagram’s Royal Stag Mega Music, this year, the festival has branched out to seven major cities namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Shillong. The festival also has three international acts performing in the festival.

Since its inception in 1995, the Great Indian Rock Festival has over the years provided a launch pad for some of the biggest bands in the country and helped them get noticed. Over the years, it has gradually developed as a platform for musicians to showcase their skills and talent, with a large number of Indian rock bands going abroad to participate in concerts.

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