Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Hilton Pharma, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan, is launching a nationwide CSR initiative, ‘Roshni say Zindagi’, to provide solar electricity to 10,000 households of marginalised rural communities throughout the country over a 3-year period. In Pakistan, over 50 million people, or about 25% of the total population is off the national grid, having no access to electricity. Rural areas are the worst affected, with over 32,000 villages, or about 40% of the rural population being without electricity. The Roshni Sey Zindagi project will thus create a rural alternate energy model to mitigate this national problem. The project will be executed in collaboration with G-Solar, who specialise in solar energy projects and who will be the implementation partner. Through this project the solar power solution for each home will provide enough electricity to power 2 LED lights, 1 pedestal fan, and also be able to charge 1 mobile phone battery. The key benefits of Hilton Pharma’s Roshni Sey Zindagi project will be provision of environmentally friendly renewable energy, increase in family income, education of children and women empowerment, as the provision of electricity enables women to work from home and create earning opportunities. Speaking about the project Sardar Yasin Malik, Chairman Hilton Pharma stated, ‘Pakistan is a very big country and many areas are totally deprived of electricity. Even if one bulb lights up the homes in such places, it gives the people boundless happiness. Indeed, it may be the responsibility of the government to provide electricity to the off-grid areas; but it is also the responsibility of all of us to supplement the government’s efforts.
