Bantwal: It is said – darkness not exist. It is merely the absence of light, and light has not existed in the Parenki and Kukkula villages in Punjalkatte of the Belthangady taluk ( Madyanthar gram panchayath limits) for a long time before independence and believe it or not, 67 years after India obtained its independence.
It’s not total darkness, as homes in these villages are lit with smoky kerosene lamps that give a faint light, by which the children have to study and other activities have to be carried out, a situation that harks back to the middle ages for most urban centers.
It’s a unnecessary tragedy in the midst of plenty as the people who live in these villages are deprived of the conveniences that electricity provides – bright lights to study, fans to keep them cool in the summer, and the home appliances it can run including the favorite pass time of most urban households – the TV.
179 families identified as below poverty line in these two villages, live in these pathetic conditions every night. Electricity is not their birth right, but it is definitely a right that the government must, should and can fulfill under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme, especially when families living in neighboring villages have benefited from the very same scheme.
They have submitted several applications to government departments and officials to cover their houses under Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme, but the pleas have fallen on deaf years. The lack of electricity transmission to this village cannot really be attributed to the normal supporting infrastructure excuse – inaccessibility, road connectivity and hilly terrain. Over and above this, the Rajiv Gandhi rural electrification scheme is meant just for such eventualities and yet it seems a distant dream.
Perhaps it can be attributed to apathy of the government and its officials? The affected people say that no government officials have visited their villages to hear and understand their grievances but the opposite is true when elections approach – There are visits and promises in abundance. Their appeal is to the local MLA and district in charge minister to understand their grievances and ensure that the electricity supply work is taken up in right earnest.
It was only yesterday on the occasion of country’s 68th Independence day celebration, that the Chief minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, said that his government was working towards the development of the state and it is time to walk the talk.
The families of these two villages are hoping that the Prime Ministers speech yesterday that received massive praise in the social media is not all hot air. Yesterday in his speech he urged the MP’s to use their MPLAD funds to each develop a model village and here is an opportunity that presents itself on a platter.
