WENEXA has selected an agricultural field demonstration site in Doddaballapur Taluk of Bangalore Rural District, Karnataka, located approximately 60 kilometers from Bangalore City. Here the Project will work in collaboration with USAID's Distribution, Reforms, Upgrades and Management Project (DRUM) that is assisting the local utility, BESCOM, with improvements in operations and electric service delivery.
The WENEXA agricultural site encompasses twenty-eight villages served by Doddaballapur Substation feeder lines Heggedehalli (DF 12) and Melekote (DF 13). This area falls within the jurisdictions of three Gram Panchayats, Melekote, Heggedehalli, and Tubagere. It is located in the upper catchments of the Arkavathy River of the Kundanvathy watershed.
Feeder lines DF 12 and 13 provide electricity to 2700 households and approximately 860 irrigation pump sets. High capacity pumps are used to lift water from deep underground levels, yet billing and collection rates for electricity are quite low. The draw down of groundwater here poses serious threats to rural drinking water supplies, and irrigation capacity has been depleted to such an extent that it is forcing some rural households out of farming.
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