The remote village of Raipur in Chhattisgarh’s Abujhamd district, once a Maoist stronghold, got electricity for the first time after decades of blackouts in electricity and other basic amenities, officials said on Sunday.
When the lamps were lit for the first time on Friday, residents of Erpanar village saw not just light, but a powerful symbol of development, a local resident said.
After relying on lanterns and firewood for years, the villagers described the moment as historic and thanked the administration and the Electricity Department for the effort.
The electricity will enable children to study at night and provide access to basic amenities such as mobile phone charging.
The availability of fans, lights and small appliances is expected to make daily life easier, while opening up possibilities for digital education, access to healthcare, communications and small businesses in the future, the resident added.
About 10 families will benefit from the electricity, which was implemented at a cost of $100,000 $56.11 lakh in the village, which is located deep in the forests and hilly terrain of Narayanpur district, according to officials.
Bastar region, which includes seven districts including Narayanpur, is witnessing a major transformation in the wake of the decline in Maoist influence as the state got rid of the threat, a government official said here.
Electricity supply in remote villages has reduced fear and isolation, improved living standards and accelerated development, pointing to a safer and more prosperous future for the region.
The official said that after decades of darkness, Airpanar was lit up for the first time under the state government’s ‘Nayad Nila Nar’ scheme, which aims to provide basic amenities to remote and sensitive areas of Bastar district.
A nearby village, Handawada, has also been electrified in recent months, marking the beginning of a broader drive to connect remote areas to basic services such as electricity, roads, drinking water, education and healthcare, he added.
Providing electricity through the grid to Erbanar was not a routine technical task. Although it is located about 30 km from the district headquarters, it involves rugged trails, steep climbs, dense forests and tracts requiring travel on foot, with connectivity deteriorating during the monsoon, said Namrata Jain, collector of Narayanpur.
She said that the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited carried out the work on a priority basis, relying on manual labor and local support in several areas where machines could not be used.
She added that despite the difficult geographical conditions, officials completed the expansion of power lines and the installation of poles and house connections in a specific time.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
