Visit to Bajuar Agency: Solar Power Initiative

[Abu Zolfiqar]

A visit to Bajuar Agency for implementation of solar home lighting system to the peaceful and government-cooperative needy people.




Bajuar Agency Solai village entry




House in the Middle of Valley Facilitated with Solar Power Home System




Village Houses on Steep Hill




Solar Panel on Pole



House Inside View Showing 7 watt Light Powered by Solar Energy.....it's not much, I know, but its enough to at least get light inside the house, for now.



Father & Son Pose After Getting Light in their Home for the First Time in Their Life



Hill-Top View of Some Solar-Lit Houses in Early Morning

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Locals informed about the system and for system sustainability and community mobilization; few of them were chosen for technical know-how and system maintenance; Amazingly they achieved the objectives in two weeks without any ordinary level education (no joke or exaggeration)



I saw girls and boys in this far and under privilege village in school facility where teacher approached from a far settle area, I got pleased with such approach of locals towards education and appraised their positive approach




Girl students, poor souls not to be blamed for veiling themselves even at age of four as seen in picture; Somebody has to change this rigidness towards female in the Pakhtoon areas



System Installer in Action




Mamon area of Bajuar Agency its pro Taliban area that’s why Pakistan government is not going to implement any development works until unless they surrender unconditionally. ( Just behind the brown mountain there is a route usually taken by Afghan Taliban area known as Toor Ghar (black mountain)...Taliban insurgency is common at this particular point




Peaceful area Gharshamozai --- Bajuar Agnecy; All villages in these mountains and behind are loyal to their traditional customs and hate Taliban and strongly oppose the Taliban concepts




Solai Village from Lower to Upper Part of Entrance Mountain

 

[UnitedPak]

very nice pics. developing these regions should be top priority.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Yes sir he's right. Please move it to appropriate section.

I will upload more pics as I find them.

We also have a few bridge building projects in the pipeline. All locally funded.


World Bank in cooperation with Asian Development Bank and other agencies have collected a basket of $200 million dollars, which will be disbursed for infrastructure in FATA. A lot of initiatives are being penned, and will Inshallah be realized.

For me, this is personal and very important. Sustainable growth and peace will be guaranteed once there is government writ and development. People will not have incentive to be lured by fanatics and even outsider enemies of the state.


I'm also hoping to (somehow) get in touch with government officials to promote micro-finance in these areas.

For those who are already too old to attend schools, they need at least vocational training.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Thread was started in the TT section. Moving it to the regular forum since there is no material in it that should not be open source.

 

[T-Faz]

This is excellent, work on these areas is the first priority of not only our government but the people as well.

Hope such works continue and help all the others in need too, especially in and around this FATA.

 

[sparklingway]

Somehow, the servers for the NA website are down. I've read reports about 200 villages being set up on Solar PV.

The program is based on a parliamentarian referral program where every parliamentarian can propose upto 5 villages for electrification by PV. The condition is that the village should not presently be electrified and would remain off the grid for the next 5 years. Around 300 villages have been nominated and most parliamentarians have proposed FATA villages instead of the ones in their own constituencies, which is a really good thing.

I'll post details of the villages later. Also, Solar water heaters have been installed in many villages.

 

[sparklingway]

I checked and as of the last report, only villages in Sind and Balochistan were connected under the Parliamentarian Sponsored Village Electrification Programme (PSVEP). Only the most remote villages will be connected but I'm sure I read somewhere about some parliamentarians sponsoring FATA villages as well.

FATADA states that their program has electrified 4 villages on a test basis and feasibility study is being done for 450 villages (http://www.fatada.gov.pk/Provision%20of Solar Energy.php)

This is what I could find right now:-

This is a solar water pumping project from 2006 which I found interesting (SEI-NUST FATA Solar Energy Project and SEI-NUST FATA Solar Energy Project)

For a countrywide view, a PC-I for a 50MW Solar TPS has been submitted by a private firm already. Last year, I was part of a team doing a feasibility study for a Solar updraft tower which are unfeasible worldwide but we were asked to do a feasibility anyways.

This is the status of solar electrification as of six months ago:-

Moreover, solar products are free from import duty which is a good incentive as well.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

 

[faisaljaffery]

Its good to see that government is payting attention to the development of most deprived region of Fata