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No electricity in this Madhya Pradesh village, despite electric poles, meters

Lights Out: Many villages in this Madhya Pradesh District live in the dark

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Children still study by lamp light in some villages in Ratlam
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"When we saw electric poles being erected in our village one and a half years ago, we rushed to buy televisions and light bulbs, but we still haven't used them," says Guddu, a resident of a village in Ratlam district, Madhya Pradesh.

Guddu's disappointment is shared by residents of other villages in the district after the Kamal Nath-led Congress government failed to provide them with the basic amenity. Much to the chagrin of these helpless villagers, the authorities have the audacity to charge them for the non-existing connections.

In fact, some villages in the Rajpura Panchayat of Ravti tehsil have been living without electricity since Independence. Many of the residents, having spent their lifetimes in the village, have never experienced power. Children still study by the light of kerosene and oil lamps.

"Our schools are far and it gets dark by the time we come home," said Bantu. "We get only 15-20 minutes of natural light to do our homework, after which we have to rely on the insufficient light of earthen lamps." To tackle this, he and his friend often go to school early the next day to complete their homework.

When the Assembly elections loomed over December 2018, they hoped things would change as electric poles were hoisted and meters were installed. But there has been no light.

"Whenever there are elections in the state, politicians come and promise us many things," says Kanta, another villager. "This time, it was electricity and they even asked for our documents, but nothing happened."

Village headman Rajiv Devda criticises the former government saying, "They constructed poles and put up meters under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana 'Saubhagya' scheme but we continue to live without electricity."

The authorities concerned have taken cognisance of the issue. "A problem has been discovered by the Ravti tehsil grid and electricity department officials," said Lakshmi Gamad, Joint Collector of Ratlam. "We have taken the matter into consideration."

OPINION

A gap between cup and lip

Infrastructure is being created under different schemes to provide electricity to consumers. Are they getting power is a million dollar question. There’s is a gap between the cup and the lip. The contractors for substations, poles, stringing of wires, installing meters are all different entities. There is no co-ordination between them. There are many villages with polls and meters allotted to consumers, but the substation is yet to be completed. In other cases, the state has surplus power, but it does not reach consumers due to burnt transformers, fallen poles and snapped wires. In the end, it is consumers who decide whether they have electricity, not the authorities. And the answer is an emphatic ‘NO’.

Ashok Pendse, Energy expert

Zee Media Newsroom

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