Power from god's land

Kateel Durgaparameshwari temple will soon become  self-reliant in generation of electricity, using the available water from     River Nandini, writes     Naina J A.

At a time when getting uninterrupted electricity is a dream, Kateel Durgaparameshwari temple has gone ahead in achieving self-sufficiency in using the available water from the river.

With this, the temple will have free, uninterrupted power supply for about eight months in a year. The temple authorities can light the bulbs, use it for grinding and other purposes.

The temple situated in the middle of river Nandini will start generating electricity from June. The temple is located about 30 kilometres from Mangalore city and attracts thousands of devotees every day.

Speaking to City Herald, Koppa-based Turbo Turbine Lights proprietor Rathnakar said “The turbine has already been installed. As the water-level in River Nandini has gone down, the generation of power will start during monsoon.

We are into manufacturing and installing customised hydro-electric turbines. The installed turbine can generate 40 units per hour.”

He said this may be the first temple in the State to achieve self-sufficiency in electricity.

Majority of the ancient temples are located on the banks of rivers. They can use turbines to generate power from hydel energy. Rathnakar said, “At Kateel, the available water from river Nandini will be used to generate about 25 KW of power.

This will be enough to light one thousand CFL bulbs at a time in the temple. The installation process is complete and power generation will begin during rainy season.”

He says “It was Deputy Commissioner Dr N S Channappa Gowda who suggested the temple authorities to make use of the water for generating hydro- electricity, instead of letting it go as it is. In fact, Chief Priest Asranna had earlier contacted me in this regard. Once the DC gave green signal, the temple authorities went ahead with the project.”

In fact, the temple authorities had already constructed a check dam to the river near the temple. The check dam has nine gates. The turbine has been installed near one of the middle gates. Power is generated when the water from the river passes through the moving turbo.

Sources said “The project was taken up at a cost of Rs six lakh. The turbine is expected to run for eight months. However, there is not enough water to generate power from February to May. The generation will commence once the water level rises. The temple was spending about Rs 14 lakh annually on electricity bills.”

Other installations

Ratnakar says he has first generated hydel power to meet his domestic power requirement. Later, he started manufacturing turbines on demand for other users as well.

He has set up 280 such units with a generation capacity of one or two KV in Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur districts and outside the state.
In Dakshina Kannada alone, as many as 75 turbines are installed in the rural villages, and Naxal infested areas where electricity is a dream.

He says “he is working on a project in Kolhapura in Maharashtra, where natural water from hilly regions is supplied to the villages.

The turbine will be installed and pipes will be connected to the water bodies to generate electricity. After generating electricity, the water would be supplied to villages. With this, drinking water woes and power problem will be solved.”