Despite tall claims by the Narendra Modi government that electricity has reached every village in India, the poorest homes in most villages are still not connected to the grid, a problem compounded in the Himalayas.
According to a report, no work has yet been done to provide electricity to the 20-odd households in Buraburi village of Goalpara in Assam though the village has been brought under the Prime Minister’s Saubhagya (rural electrification) scheme.
Assamese daily Asomiya Pratidin recently reported that the children of Buraburi were joined by their parents to protest the claims of Modi that electricity had reached each village in India. On May 5, protesters in Buraburi carried candles and kerosene lamps in their protest march.
The report claims that in several north-eastern states or areas with tough terrains, the claims of rural electrification are largely on papers.
Even in Arunachal Pradesh, the electrification of census villages is complete on paper, but in about half the villages, the only sign of electricity are poles that are not connected to any household.
In April, Prime Minister Modi had announced that his government has achieved 100 per cent electrification of all villages in India with the last village of Leisang in Manipur being connected to the power grid.
However, in what came as a major embarrassment to the government, news reports claimed data analysed and presented by the government showed that approximately 94 per cent of the villages in India were already electrified before May 2014.