After 75 years of living in darkness, the village Tulai ka Nagla in the Etah district of Uttar Pradesh, is finally set to get electricity.
According to a report in The Times of India the former power minister Shrikant Sharma directed officials to ensure electricity to the village after media reports of the 'village in darkness' since independence.
After the assembly elections that concluded earlier this year, a local Aliganj MLA gave almost Rs 10 lakh for establishing the infrastructure. "It was unfortunate that the village remained in darkness for so long. Somehow, the place was left out of power department surveys for electrification in the rural areas," he told the publication.
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Things have illuminated this Diwali for the villagers who had to earlier travel to the nearest town of Raja ka Rampur, approximately 2 km away, even for basic work like charging mobile phones. The village children too studied in candlelight.
"It's unbelievable... It's surreal to see village roads illuminated for the first time. For the past several decades, we've been trying to reach out to public representatives and local authorities. Years passed and governments changed, but we remained in darkness,": a resident said as buildings were seen lit up.
A dedicated transformer of 63 kVA capacity and 22 power transmission poles have been set up in the village, along with a 350-metre-long power line for electrification, the report said.
Residents of Tulai ka Nagla breathed a sigh of relief, deeming this the 'best Diwali gift' instead of another 'black Diwali'.