Sir: Environment-friendly solar energy has changed life in district Tharparkar, one of the backward areas of the country. The Association for Water Applied Education and Renewable Energy (AWARE), a non-governmental organisation, has launched the solar energy project in this arid region at a time when the country faces a massive electricity shortage. Tharparkar is home to a population of about 1.5 million people who are well known for their vibrant culture and peaceful coexistence with nature. In this vast desert, the temperature hits 30-35 degrees Celsius even in winters and goes over 50 degrees Celsius during summers. The scorching rays of the sun are usually seen as a bane. But for the first time, this immeasurable resource is being utilised like in any other modern place of the world. “The electricity has changed our lives,” said Ghulam Muhammad Sand, a 36-year-old primary teacher. “It has extended our day. Now my children can study even after sunset.” Jan Muhammad Samoo said that electricity-run power pumps helped pull water from 250 feet below the surface. Apart from drinking, this water is also used for kitchen gardening. Scarcity of water in Tharparkar impacts the entire population, especially women and children who have to walk miles to fetch two buckets of water from the wells. But solar-powered pumps have made their life easier. Now solar energy is being used to pull out water, which is then stored in fibreglass tanks. Solar pumps have a high initial cost but no maintenance or recurring cost. Ali Nawaz Rahimoo Umerkot