Kerala's Malappuram Collectorate Faces Unique Solar Powered Protest

Kerala’s Malappuram Collectorate Faces Unique Solar Powered Protest

By Saur News Bureau/ Updated On Mon, Jan 24th, 2022

Applicants for government jobs in Malappuram have devised a unique option to power their protests, installing solar panels and batteries to power their agitation for more jobs. In doing so, they have maintained Kerala’s reputation for the most innovative protests probably.

The protestors are aspiring lower primary school teachers who are demanding a larger list of shortlisted candidates from the public service examination held in November 2020. The current list is much smaller than it ought to be, is their main grouse.

After starting their protests in front of the collectorate office on December 13, the protestors were stung by the high cost of maintaining and running their generators. The generators were needed to keep some fans, lights and a loudspeaker charged up for their needs.

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After discussions, solar came up as a solution, especially as the protestors decided to settle in for a long protest, seeing that the government did not seem sympathetic to their demands. And thus, after a crowdfunded local campaign, they raised the money to install solar panels and batteries at a one time cost of just over Rs 1 lakh. With the weather set to be benign (sunshine wise) for the next few months, the district collectorate and the government will know that these protestors can really continue their ‘siege’ for quite some time, thanks to zero cost solar power now.

We have tried to get a local report on the details of the panels as well as progress for the protest, and will update the story as and when we get inputs. Either way, lets us hope that the outcome of the what is possibly the first solar powered protest in the country is successful for all concerned. Success here will not only be a cause for celebration for the women, but will probably create more market opportunities for portable solar+battery systems for future protests and protestors across the country:)