The Dong tribe’s solar experiment: power for Arunachal’s most remote valley
The village that greets India's first sunrise is now testing what the sun can power.
Dong, the village that claims India’s first sunrise, is running a quiet experiment: a micro-grid of solar panels and batteries that powers the school, the clinic and a cold store for fish from the Lohit.
The project, built with village labour and managed by a local committee, has cut diesel use by 80 per cent and kept the lights on through the monsoon.
The model is being studied for replication across Arunachal’s many off-grid valleys.