Power supply still a dream in Bundelkhand

BHOPAL: As government celebrates ‘100 per cent rural electrification’, electric supply remains a distant dream in the backward districts of Madhya Pradesh.
Over a dozen villages in Bundelkhand region alone languish in the darkness in the absence of electricity supply.
One such village is Rampur — with a population of 1,500 — 115 kilometres away from Chhatarpur district headquarters.The village, located on the banks of Ken river, awaits power supply. Electricity poles were erected in 1990, but they were uprooted during Ken river flood of 1992, said Suresh Garg, a former member of Janpad in Chhatarpur. “About seven months back, the villagers, staged an indefinite dharna demanding electricity. Several complaints and requests sent to the district administration also fell on deaf ears,” he said. People here survive on kerosene and firewood, he added.
Other villages like Gaderianpurwa, Bhoorapurwa, Simariya, Ravpura, Dumkheda, Anhariwali among many othershave a story as Rampur’s. Kamta Prasad, member of Janpad Panchayat, said:“The govt’s claims are incorrect. Large number of villages have no electricity supply. On paper, officials might have electrified villages, but in reality, they have not.”
Rajesh Prajapati, district panchayat president, admitted “many villages have no electricity.”
“I don’t know what was the input given by officials from here, but the fact remains that a large number of villages have no electricity. They may be electrified by the end of this year under the Saubhagya Yojana.”
He also said, “We have been getting regular requests from the villagers to get their villages electrified.”