RAIPUR: The tribal habitats tucked deep inside the remote areas cited as Maoist strongholds in Bastar, south Chhattisgarh, the villagers have a reason to cheer as their region saw lights reaching their place for the first time through solar power after independence.
Amid the ongoing aggressive anti-Maoist operations with the renewed strategy targeting the rebels, the Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) simultaneously lights up the lives of tribals in several non-electrified gram panchayats for the first time in 78 years of independence across the Maoist hotbed in districts of Bastar where they never had access to electricity.
Remaining deprived of basic infrastructure like power supply lines and distribution transformer, the remote inhabited tribal villages are now powered through off-grid system like solar power in the Maoist epicentre ushered in a new ray of hope for the local communities. Many villages are getting freedom from darkness. CREDA is providing solar-powered appliances such as lights, fans, high mast lighting pole, for drinking and irrigation purposes.
“Its a transformational step towards development in the remote Bastar region”, asserted Vishnu Deo Sai, chief minister.
Solar television is the new intervention in these tribal villages where for the first time people saw various programmes on national broadcaster Doordarshan.
Children from the worst affected Puvarti, the native village of top Maoist leader Hidma, Tekalgudiyum, and Silger have watched educator programmes and cartoons.
“Our primary focus remains to cover those villages that are in and around the 5 km radius of the newly established security camps in the worst affected Bastar region. The surveys have initially found 95 such villages and many of these panchayats are not connected with grid electricity. They have not seen electricity at all. So, we are providing solar home lights, solar high mast lighting, solar television, solar irrigation pumps besides community lighting facility. Over 80 percent of these panchayats have been covered by solar power and we are gradually moving forward”, Rajesh Singh Rana, chief executive officer, CREDA, told this newspaper.
“Studying at night for students is now very much convenient with the help of solar lights. The educational programmes on Doordarshan are valuable to the youths”, said Nuppo Hadma in Puvarti
The villagers said they never thought of having TVs in their villages. “It now brings a feeling of being connected to the world”, they expressed with delight.
CREDA is successfully carrying out its welfare mission in the worst Maoist-affected districts like Sukma, Narayanpur, Bijapur and Dantewada, Rana added.
The initiative is a part of the state government's Niyad Nellanar (meaning Your Own Village) yojana of the Chhattisgarh government to promote development and extend the benefits of welfare schemes to the remotest villages.