As against the days when the people used to depend on kerosene and oil lamps, today due to the effort of one individual one can television and other electrical appliances in almost every home.
For most of the villages in Kudremukh National Park limits and for families dwelling in thick forests, electricity had been a distant dream because the forest department had shown a red signal for electrification programmes.
Even the solar electrification programme that was started about four years ago too failed. At this juncture of time Turbo machines came as ray of light. Turbo machines are the equipment used to produce hydro power. Here the source of electricity is the flowing water. The advantage of using this machine is that it neither affects the environment nor does it pollute the source of water.
Villages like Yadgunda, Horale, Kadagundi have installed Turbo machines and as a result as many as 30 houses in these three villages have been receiving electricity. Each house has been provided seven bulbs and according to the schedule these houses can use electricity from 6 pm to 8 pm.
The villages which had not seen television today have TV sets in their houses. Horale and Yadagunda have two houses each with TVs and Kadagundi has one house with TV. Many houses in these villages have mixers now. With the Turbo machines the villages are slowly embracing modern electrical appliances.State government has provided Rs 10 lakh for production of electricity using minor hydro project. Based on the success of this programme Malnad Pradesha Abhivridhi Mandali has taken steps to install turbo machines in some villages of Sringeri, Agumbe and Charmadi region.
The pioneer
Turbo machine was designed by Rathnakar from Guddethotha near Jayapura in Koppa taluk. This 54-year old farmer has passed tenth standard. The daily routine of depending on oil lamps in his village inspired Rathnakar to design Turbo machine. When his first experiment of producing electricity using a water source in his land became a success, he developed the same stage by stage.
When Turbo machines brought light in many naxal affected areas, many lauded him saying that he has indirectly solved naxal menace.In 1995 he started a workshop to produce machines for hydro electricity. As many as 290 turbo units have been installed in Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Madikeri and Uttara Kannada districts.
This innovation of Rathnakar has brought him National Innovation Foundation award in 2002. This farmer is today tutoring many engineering students who come to him for completing their projects.
