Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL), the largest pump manufacturer & turnkey contractor in India, has bagged an order from the Gujarat Water Supply and Sewage Board (GWSSB) to install 10 solar pumping systems in seven yet to be electrified villages in Gujarat estimated to touch the lives of over 500 tribal families.
According to the order, KBL will supply, install, commission and test the solar pumping systems that will provide water to the villages in Danta and Amirgarh talukas of Banaskantha district of the state. KBL has partnered with Green Brilliance for supply and service contract of installation of solar modules for this project.
The project, which was recently commissioned, replaced hand pumps with 11Wp solar pumps that will provide an output of 5,000 to 10,000 liters of water per day per pumping system to these villages.
Ajay Shirodkar, general manager, solar and allied business, KBL, said, "As a total water management solution company, we are delighted to provide water through clean source of energy to these villages with no power supply. In the future we plan to undertake similar initiatives in other parts of the world."
These patented dust proof pumps can work in ambient temperatures up to 55°C and can automatically start and shut off as per solar intensity. They are also powered with user friendly safety features like dry run protection, phase imbalance protection, output short circuit protection and visual indication of faults through flickering LED displays. KBL, part of $2.2 billion Kirloskar Group, registered sales worth $ 500 million in with a market capitalization of more than $ 300 million.
It is India’s largest manufacturer and exporter of pumps and also the largest infrastructure pumping project contractor in Asia. The company has created the world’s largest pumping scheme which will irrigate more than two million hectares of land and supply water to 4620 towns and villages in Gujarat under the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Scheme earlier. KBL also commissioned a water pumping scheme called The Devadula Scheme in Warangal a town in Andhra Pradesh supplying water to 4 drought prone socio-economically backward districts.