PESHAWAR: Thousands of worshipers, students and community members have benefited from solar-powered geysers and water pumps installed in mosques, schools and health facilities in the militancy-affected Swat, officials told Dawn on Thursday.

A total of 314 mosques in Swat district have got geysers running on solar energy and over 30 solar power based water pumps under the UNDP-funded 'Peace and Development Programme', according to a spokesman for Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).“This is our first winter that we have warm water for ablutions,” Adil Shah, caretaker of 'Allah O' Akbar' Mosque, Muhallah Dehrian, Charbagh in Swat, told Dawn on telephone.

He, however, said the facility had not been 'very effective' due to shorter sunlight hours these days.

Solar panels, according to him, have been installed on the mosque's rooftop from where energy is supplied to a 200-litre water geyser installed close to the specified ablutions place.

“Warm water is available for ablutions prior to three out of five prayers a day,” said Mr Shah, adding that the facility had benefited 50 to 60 worshipers attending collective prayers five times daily.

Similar views were expressed by another mosque's caretaker, who termed it a blessing.

“It (solar-powered geyser) does not have any negative effect or anything to complain about as we always used cold water in winter for ablutions in the mosque,” said Ali Haider, in charge (administration) of Mian Koto Mosque, Charbagh.

He said 40 to 45 worshipers attended collective prayers five times a day of which majority performed ablutions in the mosque. He, however, said lack of sunshine these days had undermined the utility of solar-powered geyser.

Adnan Khan, a spokesman for PDMA, said a total of 347 solar-powered geysers with solar panels had been installed in mosques at the cost of Rs11.3 million and that basic health units, educational institutions and a couple of gurdwaras (worship places of Sikhs) also received solar-powered geysers.

Besides, with an investment of Rs35.7 million, some 58 water pumps energised by solar power have also been installed. The selection of mosques and other places for installing the pumps was made through a survey in which need assessment was carried out by the staff of a local nongovernmental organisation, said the caretaker of a mosque.

According to Mr Khan, a total of 33 mosques, four basic health units and communal wells used for irrigating community farmlands, government schools, orphanages and tehsil municipal office, Charbagh got solar-powered pumps.

Charbagh and Khawazakhela served as two strongholds militants in Swat as from here, their influence engulfed the whole of the district in a span of few months, compelling the government to carry out a military operation in 2009 to win back the area under the militants' control. Other than Swat, in Buner district, too, a couple of Gurdwaras have got solar panels and solar-powered geysers.

According to Engineer Ravinder Kumar, a caretaker of village Pacha's Gurdwara in Pir Baba union council of Buner district, around 200 worshipers benefit from warm water for personal cleaning prior to twice a day worships. The early morning prayers, he added, took place at 4:00am daily with some 200 people showing up for it.

He said the community had installed electric-powered geyser but it seldom worked due to prolonged loadshedding in Buner district.

“Solar-powered geyser has helped solve our problems to a large extent this winter,” Mr Kumar told Dawn on the telephone. He said initially, gurdwaras weren't included in the scheme but later, solar panels and a geyser were installed there after the programme survey team was approached by community leaders.

Ostensibly, installation of solar-powered geysers and water pumps have helped improved social acceptance of nongovernmental organisations in Swat. Caretakers of more than one mosque, when asked, appreciated the role of the NGO that carried out the fieldwork for the scheme.

“NGO people have done a tremendous service to the community, particularly namazis (worshippers) by helping them get geysers and water pumps,” said Mr Haider.

Mr Shah of 'Allah O' Akbar Mosque' said people in his village had never heard about using sunshine to produce electricity.

“We have been exposed to something really unheard of. We had heard of cars running on batteries instead of petrol, but this is for the first time that we have seen the practical demonstration of making electricity from sunshine,” said Mr Haider of Mian Koto Mosque.