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The state as hero

  • 30/08/1994

Rapid Strides (37 mins, directed by Shahid Jamal) is a success story in which, surprisingly, the state does not play the role of a villain. Arunachal Pradesh's Department of Power, apparently, knows all about eco-friendly power generation, and is willing to put its money where its mouth is.

So the state has a number of run-of-the-river mini-hydel plants which use the state's overgenerous water supply. No big dams, thank you -- precisely what the state's functionaries are increasingly having to tell a Central government that desires to gift the state some big dams, the type regarded as "prestigious" and in which contractors make oodles of money.

Capturing the beauty of Arunachal Pradesh on film obviously presented no challenge: remote hamlets in the folds of lush green slopes, tribal peoples in all their traditional finery, majestic snow-capped mountains, picturesque mist-screened hills. And, of course, the water, gushing down steep slopes to turn the waterwheels which generate electricity that liberates women from the drudgery of having to collect firewood, promotes indigenous industry and provides heat during the cold, harsh winters.

Even then, only a fraction of Arunachal's vast power potential has been harnessed. Work on a number of schemes with capacities ranging from 0.50 MW to 3 MW is in full swing -- and their combined strength will be 60 MW. Electrical, mechanical and civil expertise combine to make site-specific improvisations, to cut costs and improve productivity. All these aspects are well brought out in the documentary, which has been aired on Doordarshan once but deserves to be repeated, if only to tell the world that damn the government-baiters. It can be done.

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