The owners of some 70,000 traditional watermills (gharat in local parlance) in Uttaranchal have finally been empowered. The state government has granted small-scale industry status to gharat fulfilling a long-standing demand. Significantly, watermills ? traditionally used for husking and milling ? double up as a device to tap hydropower by employing the most elementary technology.
Down to Earth, 10(18) 2002
