Childhood inspiration turns into private hydel project

Idukki : Rakesh Roy grew up seeing a picturesque mountain stream flow down a hill near his house at Kambilikandam in this mountainous district, but only once he became an engineer years later did he comprehend the height of that nondescript hill and realise the potential of ‘Parathodu’, the water body.

This realisation by the young engineer has made Mukkudam Small Hydroelectric Project, Kerala’s first self-identified private small hydroelectric project, a reality in Idukki. The private hydel plant began supplying power to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Limited late last month. Roy said he was able to bring the project to fruition with the support of his six other friends who graduated with him from FISAT Engineering College in Angamaly some years ago. Mukkudam is the 12th private small hydel power project in Kerala and the fifth such initiative in Idukki, Roy, who is the CMD of the company, said. “We are proud to be the first self-identified private small hydroelectric project in the state. The uniqueness of the project is that it was identified by private persons like us in our own land,” he told PTI. He said though there was a provision for such projects in the ‘Kerala Small Hydro Power Policy 2012’ rolled out in October 2012, he and his partners were the first to submit such a proposal to the government. Even officials and government departments were initially apprehensive when they were approached with the project proposal as there was no precedence, he said. When asked how he identified the power sector for their first entrepreneurial venture, he said he and his friends were aware that power was a potential area since their college days. “Power cuts and electricity crunch had always been in the news in Kerala. So, even during our college days, we knew that it was a potential area,” he said. After realising the potential of the mountain stream, he discussed it with his friends who offered him all support to go ahead.