Working on solar power at Re 1 per unit: Kejriwal
New Delhi, Aug 4 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said his government is working on a new model to provide solar power to the city at Re 1 per unit.
Kejriwal was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the city's first large-scale residential solar power plant on the rooftop of five residential societies in south-west Delhi's Dwarka having a capacity of 416.5 KW.
The five residential societies included Ispat CGHS, Saksham Apartments, Supriya Apartments, Balaji Apartments and Navratan Apartments. The power from the new plants would be available at Rs 2.64 per unit.
"In the coming months, we will try to provide power at Re 1 to the people as our Power Minister Satyendar Jain is working on a new solar power model," Kejriwal said.
"The plant was set up without any additional land being used. This clean energy will replace over 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the life of the plant," Kejriwal said.
Each year, over 4.8 lakhs units of power will be generated through the plant.
The solar power plants are being set up by Delhi-based residential solar power projects developer Oakridge Energy, the leading rooftop solar developer in north India with a special focus on institutions, residential societies and individual homes.
The plants will be set up under the power purchase agreement (PPA) mode which would amount to no upfront investment from the residents of Dwarka sector as they will only be paying for the power produced at tariffs as low as Rs 4.5/kWh, a statement said.
Further, the installations will be eligible for an additional incentive of Rs 2/kWh of generation-based incentive from the Delhi government, it added.
"The plants will generate over 4.8 lakh units of power each year or over 1.2 crore over 25 years. At present tariff levels, it results in saving of about Rs 2 crore to the societies at current tariff slabs, with no upfront payment required from their side," said Oakridge Energy CEO Shravan Sampath, adding the entire investment would be footed by the company which would generate revenue by charging the societies for the power generated.
Power Minister Jain said the main reason why many people do not opt for solar plants was the cost of installation, which was very high.
"The government, therefore, has initiated this scheme where people do not have to pay for installation," he said.
Kejriwal said it was the first time that solar plants were being installed on such a grand scale. He welcomed private enterprises to come forward and work with his government to step up solar power generation and reduce dependence on conventional means.
The Chief Minister also said the power tariffs in Delhi were lesser than Mumbai.
"If you compare power tariff with other states, 400 units of power in Delhi would cost around Rs 1,200 and in Mumbai, it would cost Rs 4,000. We are able to give uninterrupted power supply, with some exceptions, as promised during elections," he said.
The AAP chief further added that the party will hold meetings with all the Residents Welfare Associations (RWA) across the national capital in the upcoming months on starting similar initiatives.
The Delhi Government is aiming to generate 1,000 MW by 2020 and 2,000 MW by 2025 through rooftop solar installation.
In May, Kejriwal inaugurated the city's first rooftop solar power plant, having a capacity of 140-KW, at IP Extension's Milan Colony, making it the first group housing society in the national capital to have its own solar power plant.
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Mehendi artists in Jharkhand denied entry to wedding venue, asked to remove hijabs
Hazaribagh: A mehendi artist and her team were allegedly denied entry to a wedding venue and asked to remove their hijabs before applying mehendi at a hotel in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh. Following the altercation, the artists refused and left the venue.
According to Siasat Daily, Alia Ahmed and her team had arrived at Hotel Aranya Vihar to apply mehendi for a client. However, they were reportedly stopped at the entrance and asked to remove their hijabs before entering.
In a video circulating online, a man at the venue can be heard saying, “Bohot dikkat hai. Jaise tumko dikkat hai hijab me nai rehne ki waise hume dikkat hai isme lagane me. (We have a major problem. Just like you have an issue with not wearing a hijab, we also have a problem with you putting mehendi while wearing it).”
According to Alia, a client from Delhi had booked her services to apply mehendi on 40 to 50 people for a wedding. She said that an elderly relative of the family asked them to remove their religious coverings.
Refusing the demand, Alia said, “Yeh toh aisa galat hai na. Nai utar sakte hai hum. Nai toh phir chod dijiye. Hum wapas chale jayinge,” after which she and her team left the hotel premises.
In the video, Alia alleged that they were insulted over their attire. “They disrespected our hijab and niqab and said that only if we removed it would we be allowed to put mehendi,” she said.
“We waited long hours in this heat while we were fasting. No one even told us to sit,” she said.
Alia further said that she had previously worked with people from different communities and questioned why her religious attire had become an issue.
“Hamara kaam se matlab hona chahiye. Na ki hamara niqab se (Our work should matter, not our niqab),” she said, adding that one of her students, Pooja, belonged to another caste.
She also said, “Jab humko koi dikkat nahi hai caste me, toh yeh log ko kyun dikkat hai hamare hijab aur niqab se (If we have no problem with caste, why do they have a problem with our hijab and niqab).”
Alia also expressed concern that if such discrimination continued, other artists wearing hijab or niqab could face similar situations in the future.
