J&K villages along LoC connected with national electricity grid after 7 decades
| Date :21-Sep-2020 |
Electricity grid in Machil area. Image tweeted by Kupwara Deputy Commissioner Anshul Garg, an IIT-Delhi graduate.
By Sumir Kaul :
KUPWARA,
SHOUTS of ‘Bijli’ from thrilled villagers lit up the face of Kupwara Deputy Commissioner Anshul Garg after efforts for over a year finally connected habitats in Keran and Machil in far north Kashmir to the national power grid, ending an over seven-decade-long wait for people living in these areas along the Line of Control. “When I took over as Deputy Commissioner (DC) of this northernmost district of the country, I began interacting with local people living in far-flung areas, especially those in villages located near the LoC (Line of Control),” 31-year-old Garg, an IIT-Delhi graduate, told PTI here.
Villagers in these areas have also enthusiastically participated in elections with the turnout always being over 60 per cent, Garg, who took over as DC in February 2019, said. “Kya hume bijli mil sakti hai sir? (can we get electricity sir). The question was from a delegation from Keran and Machil areas and the question indeed rattled me from inside. After seven decades of Independence, are these people asking me for electricity,” he said recalling details of the meeting during his initial days in the district. The files on ‘providing electricity’ were pulled out and work started at a frantic pace, the DC said.
“There was a curiosity as to how people can live without electricity, possibly a fundamental right of every citizen of the country,” he said. “Government departments were fighting and playing pass the parcel with these files. My inner voice said enough is enough, and I made this promise that these villages will be connected with the national power grid at any cost,” Garg said.