Grameena Bank lends a hand to ease power shortage

Will help convert 100 villages into ‘total solar villages’

The Cauvery Kalpatharu Grameena Bank (CKGB) has planned to convert 100 villages as ‘total solar villages’ by the end of 2010-11.

The proposal was taken up in view of the problems faced by farmers because of repeated and prolonged power failures. The proposal is already been set into action and some villages are being converted into total solar villages to illuminate them, CKGB Chief Manager (Advances) K Gurumurthy has said.

The Mysore-headquartered CKGB has already initiated some innovating programmes like making villages total in respect of cleanliness, insurance, smokeless, kisan cards and branchless banking service (B C Model) facility in villages where the population is over 2,000.

 

As part of its village development schemes, a solar streetlight it has provided in Hediyala village in association with Nabard will be switched on by Nabard Chief General Manager Venkatesh Thagat on March 24.

The Sri Gopalakrishnaswamy Friends’ Association of Tumkur district has won the best farmer friendly organisation award for taking up programmes beneficial to farmers and backing the CKGB programmes during 2008-09. The association is operating through the Mallasandra branch of the CKGB and has won this top award for its pro-farmer activities.

Similarly, the Shira Branch has won the state-level first prize for 2008-09 for giving maximum advances to self-supporting groups (Swasahay Sanghs). The award will be presented to the branch on March 19.

CKGB is operating in seven districts of Karnataka with a network of 210 computerised branches and has won Nabard’s top award successively for the fourth time for its achievements in establishing swasahay sanghs, providing financial assistance and their management during 2008-09. CKGB chairman Shivaswamy will receive the award in Bangalore on March 19, said Gurumurthy.