Solar panels along irrigation canals soon

The State government will install solar panels along the irrigation canals to generate power for lifting water. The project will be implemented in Yadgir, Raichur and Bijapur districts in the first phase.

Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai said here on Wednesday that it had been planned to install 10,000 solar panels along the one lakh-kilometre length of irrigation canals.

A private company will execute the project on a pilot basis for a five kilometre-length. The minister was in the city to take part in Independence Day celebrations.

Bommai said the project had been successfully implemented in Gujarat. “Rural areas are not getting adequate power supply and hence farmers are unable to draw water from canals.

With the installation of solar panels, each village can get up to five mega watt of power to meet energy demand for households and for farming activities,” the minister said.