Betanoti: Amid the Centre’s tall claim of cent per cent electrification in all villages in the country, as many as 159 villages of Betanoti and Baisingha electric division in Mayurbhanj district are plunged in darkness after sunset, as the region has no electricity supply, reports said.
Out of 196 villagers under the electric division in Betanoti and Baisingha, only 37 villages have been electrified, while kerosene lamps and lanterns still serve as the only source of light in the remaining 159 villages.
If 159 villages are not illuminated in just one block, imagine the condition of the rest of the blocks in the district, the angry villagers complained.
Even as the Centre is pumping in crores of rupees for electrifying villages and has launched hordes of schemes to illuminate villages, the situation remains the same in rural amd inaccessible areas of the state. Schemes like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and the Biju Jyoti Yojana have failed to reach these villages.
According to sources, the Mumbai-based Godrej company has undertaken the work of electrification of all villages in Mayurbhanj district. Out of the 196 villages, electric poles and wire connection has been completed only in 118 villages, while work is in process in another 28 villages. Work is yet to begin in the remaining 50 villages.
“We are trying to pace up the work. We hope to finish the work by coming December,” the company authorities said.
“Every time, the officials come up with some excuse or the other and keep extending the deadline. It has been years since they have been saying that we would get electricity soon, but that is yet to turn into a reality,” villagers complained.
When contacted, Betanoti section JE Debakant Chaudhary, said, “We are trying to complete the work as soon as possible.”