The Jamunabari community forest committee provided a set each to all its 780 users, to light their homes at night. Of them 300 households got it for free, 150 paid fifty per cent of the cost while the remaining paid the full cost, according to the Committee Chair Parsuram Giri.

The users were categorized into medium, low, very low and landless settlers to distribute the grants. The total installation in all the homes cost the Committee Rs. 2.2 million.

The community forest spreads over an area of 434 hectares. The Committee was set up in 2052 B.S. The Jamunkhadi wetlands located inside the forest and spread over 34 hectares is a tourist attraction.The committee is expecting around 300,000 domestic and foreign tourists to visit the site this year, Giri said.

Apart from the solar power units, the Committee has also helped all the users construct toilets in every home to declare the region an open defecation free area. The Committee is also encouraging the forest users to install bio-gas plant in their homes to meet the need for cooking fuel. RSS