IN PICTURES | Model by IIT Bombay students adopted by village in Madhya Pradesh, use solar energy to cook food

Setting a benchmark for the rest of India, Bancha village of Betul, Madhya Pradesh has now completely shifted to using solar energy for cooking in place of wood, putting an end to an age-old hazardous method of cooking. All 74 houses in the village use solar energy to cook via the induction plates provided, thereby using a safer and sustainable energy source.

Bancha, consisting of 413 residents,  was chosen for a trial by the Central Government for a project that was developed by the students of IIT Bombay. The project, which concluded in December 2018, is a huge success as it now leads the way in using sustainable energy resources along with completely minimizing the use of firewood for cooking purposes, urging the rest of the country to tread along the green path.

"We don't have to go to the forests and spend time to collect wood anymore. Our utensils do not get blackened. The food is cooked faster and a lot of time and effort is saved in this process", said one of the residents of the Bancha village. The conventional method of cooking using firewood has given way to cooking using induction stoves which are powered by solar energy.  

India receives 5-7 k Wh per squared-meter of solar energy for around 300-330 days in a year. With 60% of the population depending on agriculture as a main source of income, the use of sustainable energy is now being promoted all across India in order to spread awareness of the ill-effects of the conventional energy sources that were previously used. Understanding the need to develop other forms of energy that can be harnessed without harming the environment, the use of green resources such as solar and wind energy are being popularized.  

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Here are the pictures that show the village now devoid of the conventional method of cooking: 

(With inputs from ANI)