The Nepali government has decided to distribute 60,000 solar lamps in nine remote districts of western Nepal, local Kantipur daily reported on Sunday.

"The government will work for identifying the houses from mid December that would install solar lamps," the newspaper quoted Rajiv Munakarmi, energy officer at the Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Munakarmi said that the each household would get two lamps benefiting people of the most deprived area of the country.

The government had announced the program in July this year in the fiscal budget document of 2006/07.

The program will be launched in mid western remote districts including Jumla, Humla, Mugu, Kalikot, Dolpa, Jajarkot, Bajhang, Achham and Bajura where hunger is also common phenomena.

"As only 22 percent people of the area have access to electricity so far, the program is expected to reach 75 percent households there," Munakarmi said.

The government has allocated about 2 million U.S. dollars (142. 5 million Nepali rupees) for the program.

Source: Xinhua