Sivasamy Kaliamma, aged over 60 and a resident of Baralikkadu - a tribal hamlet in the Pilloor Forests of the Western Ghats, has never had an electric lamp at her two-room house. The television that she received from the government last year also remains unused as the village does not have electricity supply. However, life will soon change for her and those in the 34 houses in the hamlet.
On Thursday afternoon, some of the young men of Baralikkadu were busy helping the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) workers erect posts and electricity lines in front of their houses. Baralikkadu is one of the five hamlets in the Pilloor Forests that will be electrified under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme. Union Minister for Information Technology and Communications A. Raja will inaugurate the project on March 20.
Kaliamma, Das and Lavanya (all residents of Baralikkadu) say their children can study at home for longer hours, the elders can watch movies on the television and the youth can charge their handsets (now, they walk to the power house that is at least two km away to charge their mobile phones).
TNEB officials told The Hindu on Thursday that 22 tribal hamlets were identified in the Pilloor Forest area (Coimbatore Division) for electrification. Of these, six had received power supply earlier under different projects. Six more were given power in December 2009 at a cost of Rs. 15.91 lakh under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme. Five more hamlets would get power supply on Saturday at a cost of Rs. 42.84 lakh. The TNEB had recommended to the Kerala Electricity Board to supply power to three more hamlets that were on the inter-State border. Two more were inaccessible and the board was hence, exploring renewable energy options.
The officials said that during the last five months eight transformers of 25 kva each were erected and electricity lines laid for about 11 km to give power to the 11 hamlets. Power lines pass across the Bhavani and the Pilloor Reservoir and through dense forests to reach these villages. Each hamlet has about 25 houses.
“Iam living in this hamlet, without light, since the white man's rule. Current vandhadhu engallakku puniyam (It is a blessing that we got power supply),” said Rangasamy of Keddaikadu, one of the hamlets that was electrified in December.
Buses ply through these hamlets just two or three times a day. At Keddaikadu, the men walk about three km every day to get 10 litres of diesel at Rs. 420. This is used to operate the pump to draw water for their farms.
With the hamlets getting power supply, they now hope they will soon get street lights and pumpsets to draw water.
