As dry leaves crunch under SUV tyres on the dusty tracks deep inside Telangana's Kawal reserve forest in Adilabad district, the silence is broken by a herd of deer as it scurries away from the sound of the diesel powered vehicle.

Here among the forest rhapsody, thick foliage and intoxicating fragrance of the mahua flower lies a massive pond that never goes dry. Not even in the waterless months from January to June, when wildlife travel across the jungle to quench its thirst. Its secret? The water body is irrigated by a solar powered water pump that ensures a perennial flow, attracting deer, cattle and the big cat itself.

And this is how it works: the pump is fitted on an elevated platform of 20 to 40 feet, specially fabricated to ensure that the sun rays are incident on the panels without trees casting a shadow. As the sun's morning rays begin to shine on the panels, the motor switches on its own and begins to evacuate water from the borewell, pumping it up into the overhead tank. Once the 5,000 litre tank is full, the water is let out from a channel into the nearby saucer pit or percolation tank. The water pumping continues for 10 to 12 hours supplying 20,000 litres till sunset when the pump shuts down. “The pumps have been specially procured from Denmark to make evacuation of water a simple process,” explains Anil Kumar V Epur, Chairman of the World Wildlife Fund Hyderabad Advisory Board.

World Wildlife Fund and the Forest Department have partnered with corporates to provide around 16 such pumps in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana forests. “In these dry deciduous forests, the water bodies go dry as early as January. Animals in search of water stray into human habitats, exposing them to poachers,” says P K Sharma, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, and Chief Wildlife Warden, Telangana.

When Forest Department officials studied animal behaviour deep inside the forests, they spotted two issues. One, the lack of water and scorching heat forced animals to stray into human habitations. And two, big cats which prey on herbivores stayed away as they get scattered.

To stem this movement, and ensure the right flora and fauna balance, the WWF in league with corporate entities CoreLogic, Dr Reddy’s, Srinivasa Hatcheries, Rachamallu Forgings, among others, came up with the idea of setting up solar-powered water pumps in forests, says Farida Tampal, State Director, Hyderabad, WWF-India. “Since grid power lines are not permitted, the innovative solution was to power the water pumps by renewable energy sources,” Epur explains.

The first such water pump was installed in 2011 at Farahbad tiger reserve in the Amarabad forest tracts, a famous hunting ground for the erstwhile Nizams. Part of the Nagarjunasagar Sraisailam Tiger Reserve, the country’s largest tiger reserve spread over 5,928 km, it is considered the jewel of the Eastern Ghats.

“The solar pumps have had a positive impact in the forests and the wildlife. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa wanted the Chief Wildlife Warden there to consider something similar,” says AV Joseph, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Andhra Pradesh.

comment COMMENT NOW