State government to harness solar power for irrigation
As part of a pilot project, the Mamata Banerjee led West Bengal government has decided to harness solar power for irrigation in the seven districts of North Bengal.
During the day, solar power will be tapped to lift water through shallow tube-wells and at night it will be used to light up people’s homes. The project will begin after the rainy season, North Bengal Development Minister Rabindra Nath Ghosh said.
The districts are Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Malda and Alipurduar.
This project will be introduced mainly in the tribal areas. The government carried out a test run in Balarampur under Natabari Assembly constituency and after it was successful, a decision was taken to do it on a large scale.
