Engineering wonders light up rural Sri Lanka
by Lionel Yodhasinghe
K. Jayasena and his fellow villagers of Lunugalahena like many other typical Sri Lankans blamed the politicians for not fulfilling their election pledges, such as providing electricity and motorable road to this rustic village in the foothills of the Sripada Mountain range.
However, an engineering wonder lit up 77 houses in the village recently. "Providing electricity was the talk of the town especially during elections but our children wouldn't have been able to switch on a light to do their homework at night had this wonder not taken place," villagers said.
Neither Jayasena nor his fellow villagers would have enjoyed the beauty of the cascading waterfalls nor would they have understood the value of the rhythm of babbling brooks around them. But to their surprise, a small dam was built across the village stream, a powerhouse was installed, supply lines were laid within a radius of two kilometres and the village was provided electricity within 45 days.
"We did not take this seriously at the beginning when the ENCO team summoned a community meeting and explained the project proposal to the villagers. After the muffled whispers, many others refused to believe it thinking that some Colombo based organisation was trying again a ruse to grab their hard earned savings. My relatives also opposed this move and tried to prevent me getting involved in the project but I went ahead with a few other youth undeterred, said , Lunugalahena Electricity Consumer Society President I. Amarapala.
ENCO embarked on this community hydro project as a Corporate Social Responsibility project under the mini hydropower plant at Rathganga which adds 2.5MW to the national grid, said the pioneer of the project Dr. Nishantha Nanayakkara.
He said that his main objective of the community hydro projects is to prove that Sri Lankans are capable of handling advanced technological projects independently and to change the lives of the fellowmen who are deprived of basic amenities such as electricity in the periphery.
In our society where mistaken norms reigns that foreign expertise is indispensable in the successful completion of technological marvels, the ENCO projects are good testimony to challenge such misconceptions.
Dr. Nanayakkara has already constructed 18 mini hydro projects in Ratnapura, Yatiyantota and Deraniyagala, 10 out of them together with other mini hydro projects are adding about 65MW to the national grid.
Ninety percent of equipment, required in these projects has been manufactured locally. And the project designing and construction is completely handled by local engineers and technicians. "We only imported generators and certain power controlling equipment from China and Germany. All other equipment are our own products", he said.
Switching on a rice cooker without getting soot smeared on my hands was an enchanting experience. We never thought electricity would be available in this remote village in the jungle.
We are proud to use modern kitchen appliances and entertainment apparatus that are used in the city. Now we work late hours in the field as we can cook our dinner very fast, a housewife said.
The proposal to provide electricity by constructing a dam, canals and diverting streams created mixed feelings in the minds of the older generation. Would they evacuate us to dam the stream, would our property go underwater, whether backhoes turn the green patch of hilltops into barren lands, a senior villager said.
Even a tiny creature was not harmed as the environmental hazard was reduced to zero level. The team was so concerned about the environment while attending to construction work that the pipelines even bent at certain locations to save huge trees being lopped off in the jungle, he said.
He said that he never expected electricity to be provided to Lunugalahena even in his next generation.
"When we set up the project at Rathganga, we thought of passing on the benefits to the inhabitants in the area and obtain their cooperation for the successful operation and sustainability of the project.
We educated the residents on the catchment areas, necessity of forest conservation and reforestation.
Instead of academic lessons and other indigestive material, seminars, workshops and booklets to convey the message, our simple lesson convinced them on the need to protect the forest. Save the forest to light the darkness was emphasised during the community meetings. Earlier, they did not bother about the water level of the stream but now they know the value, which run their generator continuously", Dr.Nanayakkara said.
They have learnt the intricacies of treating the environment and the entire village has been a guardian of the catchments and as a result no poacher is given a chance to harm the forest, he said.
Giving ownership is another strategy to sustain this project. Members of the Village Electricity Consumers Society are sole owners of the project and they have a commitment towards the project, said Dr. Nanayakkara.
He said his advice was to use electricity mainly for education purposes for students to excel in their studies and vie for white-collar jobs. Villagers have still to use electricity for economic development and increase their income substantially.
Many use power for only domestic purposes and entertainment. Provincial Council or other social body should need to guide them to begin cottage industries such as gem cutting to enable them to use electricity for economic development.
Dr. Nanayakkara thanked the World Bank's Global Environmental Fund (GEF) for its assistance in making the project a resounding success. About 500 sites have been identified to construct this type of mini hydropower projects.
He said that due to the slow and long collateral, a project needs at least two years to get underway, which sometimes is completed within six months. The Lunugalahena project was completed within 45 days.
If the Government removes certain stumbling blocks such as the lackadaisical approach by officials, prospective developers would definitely set up new projects to add power to the national grid.
In the face of increasing world fuel price, it is imperative for the Government to encourage the renewable energy sector and mini hydropower.
He said under the mini hydro system, the environmental damage is minimised to almost zero, as they do not construct roads in the jungle, fell trees or construct large reservoirs. Our projects are extremely environmental friendly. A small dam diverts only 75 percent water of a stream and the water is released to the same stream after generating power. So there is no reduction in water levels of a stream under this project.
He also said that there is no system to recognise the local expertise not only in engineering but also in other sectors too. This has a negative impact in Sri Lanka as a nation to go ahead, he said.
The country should go more for environmental friendly, low cost projects than other high cost projects such as thermal, which damage the environment and drain our foreign exchange.
It is high time the Government takes serious note on this and provides every possible encouragement to the investors to start already identified projects and help face today's increasing fuel prices and support the rapid economic development drive, he said.
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