Oorja is a Hindi word which means energy, and energy is just what these students of Hindu College are looking to provide through project Oorja, which focuses on promoting the use of solar lamps among lakhs of street vendors in the Capital.
The team, which is working on the programme as part of its Enactus activity, is creating awareness among over two lakh street hawkers who have been using kerosene lamps for a long time. Enactus is an international non-profit organisation that works with students, academicians and business leaders who conspire to create a difference in their communities and the Enactus Hindu College was established in 2014.
The lamps are a major health hazard for users as it leads to a host of physical ailments like poor eyesight, respiratory disorders because of the fumes it emits, besides the ever present danger of fire. From an environmental point of view, students at Team Enactus say that switching to solar LED lamps would reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
"Through Oorja, we strive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by promoting use of renewable sources of energy at grass root level through our solar LED lamps. That is the way forward to a better climate and living conditions," according to students in Team Enactus.
If the over 2,00,000 street vendors in Delhi, who rely on kerosene and other conventional sources of lighting, switch to solar lamps, it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 26,000 kg.
Enactus Hindu College, in association with a local NGO, has commissioned them to make 'allure lamps' that are made from glass jars and embossed with crystals to make it look attractive. Backed up with high quality solar PV and Li-ion batteries, these lamps can provide light for up to eight hours if they get five hours of bright sunlight.
