"Lights on: Brick kiln workers in western UP begin the transition to solar energy,"

... Eight brick kilns in Aligarh district's Kodiaganj, Pilakhana and Akrabad have already made the pioneering shift from coal to solar panels to meet their electricity needs. It's a fraction of the district's 555 brick kilns – according to a report by the UP Pollution Control Board – but at least a beginning.

Om Prakash Sharma, who owns a brick kiln, said the initial costs were steep at Rs 7 lakh but the long-term benefits have been substantial.

He has installed 16 solar panels of 455 watts that he uses to power the generator of the brick kiln used to generate electricity...

The workers can also charge their phones, a huge departure from earlier times when they relied on oil lamps and pilfered electricity...

Interestingly, the shift to solar energy in western Uttar Pradesh is not confined to the kilns.

Workers are also investing in smaller panels to meet their daily needs.

"We saved up and bought a small solar panel," said Sonu Singh, a young 19-year-old worker who moved to UP from Jharkhand...

The extreme heat remains an insidious adversary for these brick kiln workers and many stopped using the fans as it just circulated more heat in their huts...

"The heat was unbearable, and the fans actually increased it by circulating hot air. Even with fans, this year we felt like being in an oven," she said...