Remote villages in Assam electrified for the first time after 73 years

Sixty-Eight households of Boalchera Karbi Punjee and Ailathal Karbi Punjee villages in Cachar District of Assam have now electrified through the off-grid solar system after 73 years.

This was made possible through the facilitation and persistent effort of Seva Kendra Silchar (SKS), a local NGO and Caritas India Regional team by availing Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – ‘Saubhagya’ scheme for the villages. SKS is implementing the Caritas India’s FARM Northeast Phase II programme supported by Misereor, Germany in these two remote villages to bring socio-economic empowerment for the farming community.

“Getting solar power is like a dream come true, as we had been longing for such facilities in our village. We had been expecting it for years but today with the hard work of the village leaders and cooperation of Seva Kendra Silchar, the entire village got solar power from the Government. Now our village is bright at night and all villagers enjoy the facility”, said Mr. Ronsing Phangcho, the Village Secretary of Ailathal Karbi Punjee.

These two tribal villages are situated almost 15 kms from the nearest town and not even connected well by a motorable road. Deprivation of power supply had made these villages go dim at night. Many children have dropped out of school and remaining find it difficult to study at home. The marginal families had to spend Rs. 40-50 every day to buy Kerosene oil for lighting lamps in the night. For poor families, even Kerosene is a distant dream. In this age of mobiles, television and other electronic gadgets, the villages seemed to be cut off from the rest of the world.

“The FARM team facilitated the farmers’ clubs meetings in the two villages and encouraged community leaders to reach out to the Government Department with an application to install electricity”, shared Mongol Hanse, team member for SKS. The community applied for solar power supply under the scheme.

The local concerned department swung into immediate action after the intervention of Mr. Manish Dasgupta, Chief General Manager, Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL). 68 solar panels were set up for every household under the ‘Saubhagya’ scheme during December 2019. The Government Power distribution agency has setup 300 Watt Peak (WP) solar panel included Battery, solar panel pole, fan, bulbs and wires & cables in every household.

Now, children can study even after dark and villagers can access the basic facilities during odd hours. The dark nights are now history. Boalchera Karbi Punjee and Ailathal Karbi Punjee wear a new look today with a beaming light in all the households and thanks to the collective action of the people!

Caritas India while promoting collective actions have reported similar cases from the project villages of SKS during 2019. A continued and sustained effort of SKS supported by Caritas India has brought smiles to people who lived without electricity since independence.