This Article is From Dec 30, 2011

Belaku project emits 'powerful' response

Bangalore: State government's ambitious power saving project, Belaku Scheme, has been successful in saving nearly one million units of power per day in Bangalore and Kolar.

This project will kick start in Bangalore from January, stated officials. Belaku Scheme was launched by the state government under the Centre's Bachat Lamp Yojana developed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in March.

As per the project, four CFL bulbs will be given to every family at a cost of 15 per bulb.

Deputy General Manager DSM, Damodar B, told Express, "CFL lamps were given to more than 9 lakh families in Bangalore (Urban) and Kolar. We have distributed 37.01 lakh CFL bulbs and collected the same number of incandescent bulbs in return."

The trial run of the project is slated to commence in Bangalore from January. The project will cover eight districts under BESCOM jurisdiction and later will be extended to all ESCOMS.

All the incandescent bulbs collected from households will be stored in godowns. "Crushing process of these bulbs is put on hold, as the next step has not been planned yet. Usually, agencies crush the bulbs in the presence of officials from Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), BESCOM after testing about 5 per cent of the collected bulbs," Damodar said.

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