Solar energy will be used to power 2,200 mobile towers to be installed in nine Naxal-affected regions in India for the first time, reports The Economic Times.
The mobile towers will be established at a cost of Rs 3,216 crore and they will be operated without any backing of electricity or generators.
For the first time in India, wide application of green energy will be done to run such a large number of telecom towers, says report quoting the official sources.
The Union Cabinet has already given nod to the project which will be implemented in one year.
Solar energy will compensate for the power interruption experienced in most of the areas. Generator sets create pollution as well as face irregular supply of fuel.
Since 2010, the Ministry of Home Affairs has been doing efforts for installation of mobile towers in Naxal-hit areas as the absence of mobile services has made it tough for security forces to operate here.
The lack of telecom infrastructure in areas like Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh compromises the position of the security forces vis-a-vis the Maoist ultras.
Most of the towers will be set up in secured areas like police stations so that the extremists cannot target them.
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