Abutted by the Bay of Bengal, the village is the only one left standing after the constant ingress by an aggressive sea swallowed up six other nearby villages over the past 40 years. Each time a cyclone comes around, villagers cower behind sand dunes before going back to pick up the pieces in their devastated homesteads. When Phailin struck in October 2013, the villagers managed to scramble to safety, but were far unluckier during the Hudhud’s rampage in October 2014.

Eking a living in such harsh conditions, the villagers now see a ray of hope — solar lanterns promise to light their path to development.

In Rajasthan, at the opposite end of the country, is yet another remote village, Tilonia, located far from its district headquarters. Here the solar lamp not only lights lives but also fetches an income, as the inhabitants of this desert village manufacture them.......Read more

Source web page:THE HINDU BusinessLine