Villages near VTR left in darkness for years
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Bettiah: A large number of villagers in three settlements near the Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) have been living without electricity for years in Bagaha.
The affected families belong to Luxmipur Rampurwa panchayat under Bagaha-2 block.
According to officials, they were deprived of power supply due to environmental restrictions.
Executive officer of the electricity department, Alok Amritanshu, said, "We have provided off-grid electricity to those areas where on-grid electricity has not been provided."
A microgrid power plant was set up in the border areas of Jhandu Tola, Chakdahwa and Bin Toli. However, with the batteries of the solar panels now damaged, the villages remain without electricity.
Amritanshu said a new on-grid-off-grid power station costing Rs 139 crore would soon be built, which would ensure 24-hour electricity supply to the area, including Jhandu Tola, Chakdahwa and Bin Toli.
Residents expressed their frustration over years of neglect. Basant Kumar, a villager from Jhandu Tola, said, "We never saw electricity after independence. But in 2018, the government established solar panels in these villages.
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When the solar panels came into existence, they offered us a sense of comfort and security. This alternative was very useful for us to recharge our mobiles and help with other daily needs.
But after two years, the battery failed, and again we are facing darkness in the village. Now we go to Susta village in Nepal, 1km away from our residence, to charge our mobiles."
He added that when solar panels were first introduced, they became the lifeline of the region, but the lack of maintenance meant they soon failed, pushing villagers back into darkness.
Some residents now use small personal solar panels to light their homes at night.
In Chakdahwa, another villager, Gulab Ansari, said, "We have complained several times to the local MLA and other administrative officers to restart the solar panels, but we only received assurances from them. More than 2,000 people live their lives in shadow due to the absence of electricity in our region, which is surrounded by VTR, the Gandak river, and Nepal on one side.
We face many problems due to darkness. People in our village have been cooking food in the dark for years.
Those who do not have lighting arrangements cook their food before it gets dark. Not only this, but the problem increases when dangerous wild animals come to our village from the dense forest of Valmiki Tiger Reserve. That time proves to be very dangerous and scary for us."
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