85 people were killed last week-Police records

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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Eighty-five people were killed in Uganda in the past seven days, according to police records.

Statistics from the Criminal Investigation Directorate –CID show that 40 people were killed in criminal incidents while 45 others died in the countrywide protests following the arrest of the National Unity Platform-NUP presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi.

Kyagulanyi was picked up from Luuka district headquarters last week while addressing his supporters by a team of police officers led by Frank Mwesigwa on accusations of flouting Standard Operating Procedures –SOPs meant to stop the spread of COVID-19.

This led to sporadic protests in various parts of the country, which prompted security forces to respond with teargas and live bullets that claimed the lives of several people. Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga told journalists that some suspects were picked up in connection to the killings.

Some of the killings that happened outside political protests include the kidnap and murder of 7-year-old girl Esther Mujuri in Kiboga District. The minor was kidnapped from her parent’s home where she had been left with her two little brothers.

“The parents of these three young children left them alone at home. The assailants came and asked for a knife and later dragged Namujuri out of the home up to the nearby hill from where she was found killed,” Enanga said.

Enanga also says police have opened inquiries into the death of the 45 people killed during the pro-Kyagulanyi protests. At least 836 people have arrested in connection to the protests

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These 2 Young Men Left Their Corporate Jobs to Light up an Entire Village Using Solar Power!

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Did you know that many villages in our country still spend a major part of their livelihoods in complete darkness, despite having undergone the process of electrification? With an exception of two to three hours, the villagers have no choice but to spend the entirety of their time without any electricity, even after seven decades of independence.

Free Spirits Green Labs, a venture led by Nitin Saini and Rahul Talreja, installs solar micro grids that provides a steady supply of power up to eight hours in a day in the rural side of India.

Based in New Delhi, the organization has successfully installed solar grids in the village of Mujuri Naka in Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, this year.

Nitin Saini and Rahul Talreja during the installation at Mujuri Naka, Maharajganj.

With a dream of facilitating rural electrification during college days, Nitin finally was able to take a step closer towards achieving it, under the guidance of Dr. Kumar Krishen, who is a Senior Scientist at NASA and used to be a visiting professor at the Delhi College of Engineering.

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In 2013, as part of research, Nitin had distributed small-scale solar products, like mobile chargers to the people in the village of Shamli. Since the village had scarce power supply, the products were readily accepted by the people.

Nitin and Rahul, who were classmates pursuing electrical engineering at DCE, went on to join the corporate world. But for Nitin, the persistent thought of rural electrification always remained. Shortly after, he met Rahul and together, they conceptualized the FS Green Labs. The only glitch at the time was time; for they could only work on the research and development post work hours. This included rounding up villages with bare minimum provision for power supply and consulting different NGOs that could help them on solar designs.

However, the passion and zeal they had for the project kept them motivated and soon they started spreading awareness about the need for solar products in the rural side through solar drives and workshops in colleges like Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru.

Finally, sometime in 2016, they quit their jobs to dedicate themselves completely towards the cause.

The first project was where FS Green Labs provided the villagers with repair and maintenance training. This was done in collaboration with Indian Project, a Swiss NGO, where they were delegated the work of training and electrifying a small rural region in West Bengal.

“Here is where we figured that something was amiss. All the installations were done perfectly. But the villagers had absolutely no idea how to manage or maintain it, largely due to the lack of awareness of the system,” Rahul says.

That’s when they realized that more than the colleges where they were giving lectures; it was in these villages that proper solar awareness workshops were necessary. “Also, most of the companies that sold solar products focused only on urban sections in the country; this made us all the more determined in getting the solar technology to the villages,” he adds.

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But nothing comes easy. The problem of maintenance still persisted. “We wanted to implement something that could track the performance of the installed micro grid, spot or predict failures and conduct possible maintenance; that way not requiring any one of us actually going back to find the issue,” Rahul says.

Post their first project introspection, they decided to change their modus operandi from just helping install solar systems in rural area to an effective mode of communication and maintenance.

“We planned on training few people from every village where we put up the grids who could manage and maintain the system”, Rahul says.

A resident in the Mujuri Naka village post installation.

Also, to establish a free flow of communication between the system, the person from the area and the company, we decided to include a smart cloud-based management and analytics platform named TrackSo that could be controlled remotely,” he adds.

At the beginning of this month, Mujuri Naka in Maharajganj finally had electricity for more than three hours a day, without hindering household chores or study time for children. Previously having used a diesel generator that proved very expensive, since most of the people living in this region were either farmers or worked in micro-enterprises, the sustainable solution of solar grids helped close to 300 families in the area. A major chunk of the project was crowd-funded in collaboration with the Milaap Foundation.

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FS Green Labs now plans on covering more villages in UP and stretching out to other states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Also, the team has been exploring the possibility of solar water pumps and the impact they could have in the rural region and plans on pitching the idea to various state governments, from where it could be taken forward.

To get in touch with Free Spirits Green Labs, click here.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Best Governors & MPs Ranked in New Report [FULL LIST]

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A survey released by Mizani Africa on Tuesday, May 18 unveiled the Leadership Award 2021 whereby it ranked the best governors, MCAs, and MPs based on their performances during the past year.

According to the report, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki was ranked as the best governor with a score of 79.7 percent. He was followed by Kirinyaga Governor Anne Mumbi Waiguru who scored 79.4 percent.

Nandi Governor Stephen Sang emerged third with 79.0 percent and his Mombasa counterpart Ali Hassan Joho came fourth with 78.9 percent. Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyongo rounded up the top five list with 78.5 percent.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino addressing a crowd during a past event. Facebook

Kiambu Governor James Nyoro and his Taita counterpart Granton Samboja emerged sixth and seventh respectively. (78.4 and 78.0 percent).

In Parliament, Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina and MP Westlands Timothy Wetangula tied as the best-ranked legislators with a 65.9 percent score.

Uriri MP Mark Nyamita came third with 65.5 percent while Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro drew the fourth slot with 65.1 percent.

Embakasi East MP Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino tied with South Imenti MP Murungi Kathuri to round up the top five spot with a 64.5 percent score.

“Thanks to the Great People of Embakasi East Republic, Kenyans, and Mizani Africa for ranking us at position 5 Nationally in Performance/Development track record,” Babu Owino stated after receiving the award.

Full list

Top Governors

  1. Muthomi Njuki -Tharaka Nithi -79.7 %

  2. Anne Waiguru - Kirinyaga- 79.4%

  3. Stephen Arap Sang- Nandi- 79.0%

4 Ali Hassan Joho- Mombasa- 78.9%

5 Anyang Nyongo-Kisumu- 78.5%

  1. James Nyoro- Kiambu- 78.4%

7 Samboja Granton-Taita- 78.0%

Top MPs

  1. Patrick Wainaina- MP Thika Town 65.9 %

  2. MP Westlands Timothy Wetangula 65.9%

  3. Mark Nyamita -Uriri- 65.5%

4 Ndindi Nyoro -Kiharu 65.1%

  1. Babu Owino -MP Embakasi East -64.5 %

  2. South Imenti MP Murungi Kathuri- 64.5%

7.Hasan Omar - Mandera East- 64.2%

  1. Didmus Barasa - Kimilili- 64.2%

  2. Simon Nganga - Ruiru - 63.9%

  3. Moses Kipkemboi- Kuresoi- 63.7%

  4. Caleb Kositany - Soy- 63.7%

  5. Samuel Onunga - Alego Usonga - 63.3 %

13.Josphat Gichunge - 63.3%

14.James Opiyo - Ugunja - 62.9%

15 George Kariuki - Ndia- 62.8%

16 Joshua Kivinda - Kaiti - 62.7%

17 Paul Otiende - Rarieda - 62.5 %

18 Anne Wanjiku Kibe - Gatundu North- 62.2%

19 Vincent Musoka - Mwala- 62.0%

20 Benjamin Mwangi- Embakasi Central- 62.0%

Top MCAs

1 Biashara Ward ward Elijah Njoroge

2 Kinoo Ward Samuel Kimani

3 Ichagaki Ward Charles Mwangi who tied with Majimbo Okumu from Khalaba ward

4 Muguti Kiima Ward Caleb Mutiso

5 Kirinyaga Lucy Njeri Mwaniki

6 Matopeni Ward Abdi Guyo

7 Wangu ward Isaac Kamote who tied with Roysambu Ward Peter Warutere

8 Chinga Ward Kiruga Thuku

9 Kabazi Ward Peter Kibe Mbae

10 Juja Ward Jayantila Kaplesh

11 Tabera Ward Goodson Wachira

12 Kilimani Ward Morris Muchiri Nyaga

13 Ndenderu ward Solomon Kinuthia

14 Runyenjes ward Steve Simba

15 Kitengela Ward Paul Matuyia

16 Mweiga Ward Njuguna Wanjiku Kawanjiku

17 Meru county Elias Murega Julius

18 Nominated MCA Nairobi Annita Nthumbi

19 Langas Ward Francis Mwangi

20 Nominated MCA Machakos Margaret Ndalana