100 rural electrification Left out Odisha villagers travel 3km to charge phones

  • | Thursday | 21st February, 2019

Due to the non-availability of the 16kV transformer required for the village, the work could not be completed. KORAPUT: A daily routine for the villagers of Kelubadi under the Maoist-hit Narayanpatna block in Koraput district is to travel three kilometres to reach the panchayat headquarters of Borigi, simply to recharge their mobile phones. “We have written to the contractor to electrify the village soon, as the required transformer has become available now. After all, they have to shell out Rs 5 to Rs 10 to their neighbours in Borigi to get their phones recharged.“Going elsewhere to recharge our phones has been our daily work. “Immediate steps will be taken to ensure that the village is electrified at the earliest,” the collector said.

KORAPUT: A daily routine for the villagers of Kelubadi under the Maoist-hit Narayanpatna block in Koraput district is to travel three kilometres to reach the panchayat headquarters of Borigi, simply to recharge their mobile phones. The reason? Kelubadi is yet to be electrified.Upset and angry with the state government for keeping them in the dark, quite literally, the villagers of Kelubadi have threatened to boycott the upcoming general election. The lack of electricity not only makes daily chores difficult, it is taking a financial toll on the residents of the picturesque, hill-enclosed hamlet . After all, they have to shell out Rs 5 to Rs 10 to their neighbours in Borigi to get their phones recharged.“Going elsewhere to recharge our phones has been our daily work. We have become habituated to it. When some of us go to Borigi to recharge our mobile phones, others send their phones with us,” shrugs Rameya Mandingi, a Kelubadi resident, used to walking the extra mile for things the rest of the world takes for granted.He explains that they prefer to go to their relatives’ or acquaintances’ houses in Borigi to avoid having to pay for this small task. Utmost effort is made to conserve phone charge; streaming videos, long phone calls or simply fiddling with the thing is out of the question.Some who go to the block headquarters of Narayanpatna for work also charge their phones there. The block headquarters is located 14 kilometres from Kelubadi. There, too, they have to pay for it.“We are charged Rs 5 to Rs 10 for an hour of charging at the shops in Narayanpatna. In Borigi, if we charge our mobiles at houses other than those belonging to our relatives, we have to fork out money,” adds Jena Tadingi, another villager. “We have to keep our mobiles charged as during a medical emergency, we need it to call an ambulance. We also use the phone to keep in touch with our relatives and keep ourselves updated,” he further says.Surrounded by hills, Kelubadi is situated at a distance of about 100 kilometres from the district headquarters town of Koraput and borders Andhra Pradesh, It is home to around 60 tribal families, who eke out a living by doing minor agricultural activities. Though both the Centre and the state governments have launched several rural electrification schemes, Kelubadi is yet to be touched by any of them.What irks most is that the villagers themselves had put in physical labour to set up electricity poles around three years ago when the government had begun electrification work in the village. They worked as labourers under the contractor appointed by Southco, the state-run power discom.“Poles were erected on either side of the road passing through the village and wires were connected to it, but it was never commissioned. Though we have approached the officials of power discom Southco several times, nothing has been done,” said Sindhu Huika, a villager.The villagers say owing to the non-availability of electricity, children are forced to study in lamplight and women face problems in doing their household chores. Also, the fear of being attacked by wild animals keeps most of the residents indoors after dusk.Tired of the alleged apathy shown by the government, the villagers have threatened to boycott the general election. “If our village is not electrified before the general election, not a single voter of the village will cast his or her vote in the election. We have no faith in the assurances of the elected representatives or the officials of the government,” says Raghu Madingi, a villager.Officials said electrification work of the village began in 2017 under the state government-sponsored Biju Gramya Jyoti Yojana. Due to the non-availability of the 16kV transformer required for the village, the work could not be completed. “We have written to the contractor to electrify the village soon, as the required transformer has become available now. We hope the villagers will get a power connection soon,” said Tusar Kant Nayak, subdivisional officer of Southco (Laxmipur).When contacted, collector (Koraput) K Sudarshan Chakravarthy said he would look into the matter. “Immediate steps will be taken to ensure that the village is electrified at the earliest,” the collector said.

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