Cuffe Parde residents look to solar panels for savings

To protect the environment and cut their expenses on bills, Cuffe Parde residents have decided to install solar panels to generate electricity for the supply of water to their open space.

“At present, we are using electricity at commercial rates for our open space with a monthly bill of Rs 15,000,” said Padmakar Nandekar, secretary general of the Cuffe Parade Residents Association.

The move, according to residents, is to ensure that they contribute to the preservation of the environment, and make the most of the money they are spending without any benefits. “Cost is secondary to us. We are nature-friendly people and look to have a cleaner source of electricity. The panels will cost us around Rs 9 lakh. Now, the money we pay for our bills does not give us any returns. The input cost is high but in the long run, it will be cost-effective,” said Nandekar.

The residents have been trying to adopt other environment-friendly measures such reducing the use of plastic bags and purchasing a plastic crushing machine. The drive for the same will start on December 10. They said that they have managed to get a sponsor and are waiting to start the work once the collector office gives them the extension for caretaker status to maintain the open space.

The 1.85 lakh sqft open space has over 15,000 trees. “We are asking for caretaker status to be extended,” said Nandekar.