Freedom from the dark
CHHATTISGARH : For years now, the secret war has ravaged the forest, claiming numerous victims in its wake. Those inhabiting the remote reaches of Chhattisgarh have lived too long under the shadow of terror, cowering as bullets flew overhead and the soil rumbled from distant blasts.
Now, as aggressive anti-Maoist operations secure command over ‘red rebels’ strongholds, forces have reached far-flung rural belts affected by left-wing extremists in supposed relief to those subjected to the Maoist scourge.
After 78 years in independent India, tribal hamlets tucked deep inside forests of southern Chhattisgarh have a reason to cheer as electricity reached their corner of the world for the first time; light bulbs flickered to life in dark corners, courtesy of solar power.
The state government has facilitated renewable sources of power supply to regions devoid of electricity in tribal habitats. Solar energy is lighting up the remotest corners of Bastar and faraway rural pockets with the aid of the state-owned Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA).
Deprived of the barest infrastructure like power supply lines and distribution transformers, the remote tribal villages are getting powered through an off-grid system of solar power, ushering in a ray of hope - freedom from darkness.
CREDA is also providing solar-powered appliances such as lights, fans, high-mast lighting poles, and solar-powered pumps for drinking ater and irrigation purposes. They are designed and executed to be affordable and cost-effective in the long run, CREDA officials said.
Interestingly, solar television is the new intervention in these tribal villages where for the first time people saw various programmes on the national broadcaster Doordarshan. Children in Puvarti, among villages worst-affected by the Maoist reign watched educational shows, cartoons, their faces lit up.
“Its a transformational step towards development in the remote Bastar region”, asserted Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.
CREDA is moving forward with its mission in the districts of Sukma, Narayanpur, Bijapur and Dantewada, once Maoist hotbeds. Now, walking through villages here, one can spot solar panels installed on rooftops, overhead water tanks, irrigation pumps, and a brightly-lit village market. On numerous occasions, CREDA workers toiled for days, walking miles through desolate forests and difficult terrain to bring solar equipments to these distant tribal communities.
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