AMTOLA (KAMRUP): A young brigade of students from IIT Guwahati's Team Techniche has illuminated the streets of one of the oldest villages of Assam - Amtola in Kamrup district - for the first time this festive season. The students have turned Rongali Bihu bright for this underdeveloped village mostly inhabited by the fishermen community.Amtola and its neighbouring villages have faced the fury of floods for long and is one of the villages that has been deprived of basic amenities for decades. However, the initiative to install solar lights undertaken by Team Techniche, the annual techno-management fest of IIT Guwahati, has ushered in rays of hope for the villagers. The Techniche team has voluntarily installed five solar lights that cost about Rs 25 thousand each in the destitute areas of Amtola village near Kukurmara with the support of village residents and the sponsors of Techniche."We are very optimistic about the bright students of IIT Guwahati who took all the pain to light up the dark streets of Amtola. For such a long time after independence no one realized the need of street lights here even though the village is not far away from Guwahati. We are grateful to the IITians for their benevolence," Bigya Jit Das, a local youth, told TOI.Even though it is surrounded by emerging industrial zones, Team Techniche said more than 80% of Amtola is still underdeveloped in technical and infrastructural aspects. The plight of the villagers of Amtola came to the notice of Team Techniche through some of the people from the village who were working at the IIT on construction projects, added the students.Techniche aims at the integrated development of both rural and semi-rural areas and installing energy-efficient solar lights in the necessitous areas of the villages is part of the programme. Techniche has so far installed over 100 LED street lights in more than 50 villages, delivering benefits of 40-45% energy and monetary savings."We have received a very good response from village people and Assam government, which has motivated us to continue the initiative next year as well," said convenor of Techniche 2018, Purvish Shah.Working with a vision of uplifting the underdeveloped villages located on the outskirts of Guwahati, the Techniche team aims at tackling the infrastructure deficit and offering advanced technical support to the villages that are in need. "Installation of lights is more than just solving problems, it is a step towards empowerment and enlightenment," a Techniche official said.

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