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Friday, March 29
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This village is still waiting for electricity

This village is still waiting for electricity


Mangalore Today News Network

By Ramya BN


Belthangady, May 9, 2012: Life is unthinkable in the absence of electricity in this modern day world.  But people of a village in Belthangady taluk  have been  living without electricity for decades together  and the situation has not seen any change as to yet. This is a classic example which is testimony to the absolute lack of will power and determination on the part of the elected representatives. This issue gains all the more relevance because this village is in the home district of the Chief Minister as well as  the Energy Minister of the state.


Not that this place called Machina is a very remote village; it is just 1.5 kms away from the taluk headquarters, Belthangady.Residents of this village curse their fate for having to live under kerosene lamps. Most of the villagers being farmers, they are the worst hit in the absence of electricity.

 

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Having the credit of being the most industrialized district in Karnataka, many villages have obtained the basic facilities and are heading towards development. But Machina seems to be an exception. The village has electricity poles outside houses, but has been deprived of electricity connection, courtesy the contractors mafia. Villagers say a few years ago, an electrical contractor collected Rs. 500 from each family, promising electricity connection, but never turned up later. They also complain that they are being bullied by electrical contractors to pay electric poll and TC charges.


Around 150 houses in Mudipire, Kodiyelu, Nerolupalke, and other areas of Machina rely absolutely on kerosene lamps from decades and the MESCOM, fully aware of the fact,  has failed to respond to their pleas so far. Apart from farmers,  there are daily wage earners and  rollers, majority of whom belong to the  SC/ST and economically weaker sections of society. Farmers are the unhappiest lot as they depend heavily on kerosene pumps and the four liters of kerosene they receive every  month from the fair price shop is  highly insuffice to light the lamps at home and run pump sets  in the farms. They have to pay Rs. 35 per liter of kerosene in the open market and this has made life very miserable for these poor villagers.


Says Rukmini, “We depend on agriculture. We grow coconut and arecanut, and to provide sufficient water for our plantations, we have to pump water through kerosene pumps. We have applied for electricity connection through the Panchayat, but we still haven’t been provided electricity.” “Though the chief minister and the home minister hail from this district, they have done nothing to solve our problems. We have been trying for an electricity connection for the past 15 years, yet the authorities have turned a deaf ear to our pleas. We cannot afford to purchase kerosene at a higher cost in the open market,” she adds.


Even the students of this  village are the worst hit as studying in the light of  kerosene lamps  has become difficult for them.


The villagers now seem to be determined to fight against the apathy of the elected representatives who arrive at their door steps only during election time, make promises and conveniently forget them once they come to power. . They now say they will boycott polls in the future unless  they are provided with electric connection.


Today, the whole of Machina is united and is making an ardent appeal to Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda and the Energy  Minister Shobha Karandlaje to grant them the much needed ‘power.’ Will their appeal be heard?  

 


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