The ambitious Prime Minister Suryaghar scheme, which aims to provide free electricity by installing solar energy panels on houses, is receiving a good response in the Marathwada region. A total of 31,153 applications have been received for the scheme across the eight districts of the Marathwada division, out of which 31,102 have been sanctioned. The installation of solar panels on the houses of the applicants has gained momentum, according to Rahul Gupta, the joint managing director of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL).
Under the scheme, the union government provides a subsidy of up to ₹78,000 for consumers with projects having a capacity of three kilowatts. Launched in February, the scheme has already provided subsidies to 25,086 consumers in the state, amounting to ₹160 crore. As of now, 3,51,942 consumers have registered for the Suryaghar scheme on its portal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the target of providing rooftop solar panels to 1 crore consumers, enabling them to receive up to 300 units of free electricity each month.
In Marathwada, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city has 5,361 beneficiaries, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar rural – 3,606, Jalna – 3,096, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar sub-division – 12,153, Latur – 4,481, Beed – 3,408, Dharashiv – 2,066, Latur sub-division – 9,955, Nanded – 3,746, Parbhani – 3,348, Hingoli – 1,900, Nanded sub-division – 8,994, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division office – 31,102.
Information about the scheme is available on the website [https://www.pmsuryaghar.gov.in](https://www.pmsuryaghar.gov.in), and consumers are encouraged to take advantage of it, Gupta urged.
Man murdered by slitting throat
A man was brutally murder by slitting throat and his body was later thrown in the Godawari river. On Some people found a body of a man floating on the surface of the river near Dasgun Bridge on Monday morning. They immediately informed about it to the Nanded Rural police. The police rushed to the spot and called the fire brigade team. The jawans then took out the body of a man of around 30 years old. The body was sent to the government hospital at Vishnupuri for postmortem. In the preliminary investigation, it was found that the throat of the man was brutally slitted and later his body was thrown in the river. The deceased has been identified as Shubham Gaikwad, a resident of Rahimpur in the Nanded city. The rural police are further investigating the case.
Aurangabad water supply affected again
The 1200 mm diameter pipeline, which supplies water from Jaykwadi to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, leaked in the Konkanwadi area on Monday, affecting the city's water supply once again. As a result, the water supply from the pipeline was shut off between 2 pm and 6 pm for repairs. The water supply to various localities will be delayed, according to sources from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC).
The leak in the pipeline began at Konkanwadi Chowk on Monday afternoon, causing thousands of litres of water to be wasted. As the leak was initially neglected, the pipeline eventually burst due to water pressure, flooding the road and giving it the appearance of a lake.
Upon receiving the information, CSMC officials rushed to the site, stopped the water supply at Nakshatrawadi, and began repairs. However, the express water pipeline, which supplies water to the Cidco-Hudco area, remained operational, and water continued to be supplied to the city through this pipeline. The repair work on the damaged pipeline took around four hours, and the water supply resumed at 6 pm. However, the water supply schedule has been disrupted, and delays are expected in some city localities, the sources said.
6K applications received for PET - 2024
As many as 6,414 applications have been received for the PhD Eligibility Test (PET)-2024 for the vacant 577 PhD seats at Swami Ramanand Tirth Marathwada University (SRTMU). Applications were invited to fill the PhD seats in various streams at the university.
PET was not held for the past few years due to various unavoidable reasons. As a result, there was a deep dissatisfaction among the students against the university administration. Various students’ unions had agitated demanding PET and many organisations held demonstrations for it. Considering the demand, the university administration in August announced to fill 566 seats in various streams in the university. Applications were invited from the eligible students to conduct the PET examination. In all, 6,414 students filled out the applications for PET, of which, 1,282 have been exempted from PET-24.
As per the PET timetable, it was to be held on Aug 31, but it was postponed due to the NEET. The new timetable for PET has not been declared yet.
Presently, there are 218 seats vacant in humanitarian science, 38 for management, 281 for science and technology and 29 for inter-disciplinary streams. Presently, there are 750 guides available with the university.