Author: Ambreesh Mishra
Publication: India Today
Date: January 21, 2010
URL: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story?sId=80364&secid=24
Introduction: Traders of a small town take
a step towards saving both the planet and electricity bills by pushing CFLs
Climate change, it seems, is impacting small
Indian towns in unusual ways. Even as world leaders gathered at Copenhagen
last year to find ways to cut carbon emissions, Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh
was already doing its bit to save the planet. The traders' guild, Vidisha
Vyapaar Mahasangh (VVM), held a camp recently to sell power-saving CFL lamps
at a 35 per cent discount, instead of the usual power-guzzling filament incandescent
lamps. Almost 4,500 CFL lamps worth Rs 4 lakh were sold during the two-day
camp. Buoyed by the response, the VVM then held another camp in collaboration
with the Vyapaar Mahasangh of the adjacent Ganj Basoda town. "This means
fewer old filament bulbs and lower electricity use," says local MLA Vir
Singh Raghuvanshi.
The traders' guilds are encouraging CFL makers
and dealers to set up shop at these camps and offer discounts. The traders
set up the camps, arrange publicity for CFLs and complement the discount offered
by CFL makers and dealers from their own funds. The movement is the brainchild
of VVM president Rajesh Jain, who hit upon the idea of promoting VVM lamps
after the monthly power dues of his own grocery store more than halved from
Rs 1,200 to Rs 500 per month when he replaced his old tube-lights and filament
bulbs. "Earlier, traders used to donate to temples and build dharamshalas
but we think tackling contemporary problems is a better way to contribute
to society," he says.
Unlike some states which offer free replacement
of filament bulbs with CFL lamps, the Madhya Pradesh Government has no subsidy
component. Sanjay Shukla, the CMD of the Madhya Pradesh Central Region Power
Distribution Company, says: "Such spontaneous initiatives from civil
society have a far more enduring appeal and impact." The company now
plans to join hands with other traders' bodies to promote the use of CFLs.
And this is not all. The VVM now plans to promote the use of solar water heaters
and cheaper air-cooling. Small town India, it seems, is fast becoming a vital
part of the battle against global warming.
