The humble charka is set to make a contribution in the fight against global warming as well.
Even as the world is set to debate carbon emission cuts at Copenhagen, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialisation (MGIRI) at Wardha has developed a unique device – a solar charkha. MGIRI also hopes to increase the popularity of charkha with it.
“This latest version of the charkha has been developed to keep khadi eco-friendly. It is non-polluting and does not use any energy that creates pollution,” says Pavan Thakur of MGIRI, who has developed the solar charkha. “It moves a little slowly during the monsoon months as you don’t get as much sunlight, but there is no problem for the rest of the year.” This charkha uses two solar cell panels of 37 watts each which can keep it running throughout the day. The 12-watt battery, attached to the solar panel, stores power that can run it for three hours in the absence of sun.
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