“Come, they are waiting for us,” a tribesman beckoned Palaniswami, the Kaani (headman) of the Edaliparakudi settlement of the Edamalakudy grama panchayat – Kerala’s remotest and only tribal grama panchayat which is located deep inside the Munnar forest division.
A crowd had already gathered at the newly installed transformer at the terminal point of the rutted dirt track from Pettimudi, some 13 km into the jungle from the foothills of Rajamala, part of the Eravikulam National Park.
“Shall we go ahead, Kaani?” Jacob K. Eapen, Assistant Executive Engineer of the Kerala State Electricity Board’s Chithirapuram subdivision, asked Mr. Palaniswami before switching on the 100-kVA transformer on Thursday evening, bringing electric power to the grama panchayat.
The tribesmen clapped their hands excitedly to mark the momentous occasion.
“This is not like the other (solar) light, so don’t fiddle with it. In case of a glitch, don’t do a thing. Just let us know,” Mr. Eapen told the inhabitants of each hut.
“They’ve been given extensive awareness lessons as to how to deal with electricity. Hope nothing goes wrong,” he said. “They have told us it’s like trying to carry something weighing 30 kg and 3,000 kg,” a tribesman displayed his understanding.
It was the last lap towards the State attaining total electrification. “We have drawn underground cable all along the rocky ghat track from Pettimudi up till Societykudi, located another 4 km away from Edaliparakudi where the panchayat office is located, and except for the finishing touches, work has been completed,” Mr. Eapen said.
The project, worth ₹Rs 4.75 crore, to bring electricity to nearly 200 households in the Edaliparakudi, Societykudi and Sheddukudi settlements – among the 26 settlements of the Muthuvan tribe spread over a forest area of 106 sqkm and with 2,236 tribespeople – would not have been possible without the active involvement of various trade unions in the KSEB.
“Transporting electric poles, transformers and wires along the undulating and hilly track was an arduous task. Since there was no professional electrician available to do domestic wiring of huts at the Kudis, members of the KSEB Workers Association affiliated to the CITU procured wiring material using charity and stayed over to carry out domestic electrical works. Similar feat was undertaken by the Kerala Electricity Workers Federation (AITUC) at the Kurathikudi tribal settlement in Adimali grama panchayat (which got electricity on Friday),” the officials said.
Besides Mr. Eapen; Thripudi Jayan, Assistant Engineer; Jayan Scaria, Sub Engineer; and P.R. Mohanan, Overseer; were present to conduct the test run of the transformer and the domestic lines.
KSEB Adimaly division Executive Engineer Nazruddin described the trial run a success and said that all remaining minor works would be completed before Sunday. Power is provided to Edamalakudy from the lines of the Kanan Devan Hills Plantation Company at Pettimudi from the 11kV line and a metering facility has been set up there.
Separately, all 980 houses in the panchayat are also being provided electricity through solar power as linking all the settlements through open lines was found difficult given that the settlements are scattered over an expansive forest area.
Edamalakudy grama panchayat was formed on November 1, 2010, exclusively for the Muthuvan tribespeople. The village, which remained cut off from the rest of the world, became the first solar-powered grama panchayat with a V-Sat unit at the grama panchayat office in 2015.
A major problem facing the residents of Edamalakudy was that they had to travel, most of it on foot, to the camp office at Devikulam, some 50 km away, to avail of the services of the panchayat as the panchayat office at Societykudi had no power, equipment, adequate connectivity or staff.
The V-Sat at the Akshaya centre adjoining the temporary panchayat building is operational, but the government has now asked the staff to permanently move to the headquarters at Societykudi to offer its service in-situ.
“All the services will soon be available at the panchyat office itself where office files would be kept and computers made functional,” said P.A. George Kutty, a panchayat employee working at Edamalakudy since the inception of the panchayat. “Power connection will be a milestone for the development of Edamalakudy as other services especially hospital facilities will also reach soon,” said Doraisami of Edaliparakudi.
Funds have been allocated by both the National Rural Health Mission and the panchayat for construction of a health centre at Societykudi and contract has been awarded. A primary health sub centre manned by a male nurse is functional at the panchayat right now. But there has been a demand on the part of people to upgrade it to a proper health facility with a resident doctor. The worst affected are pregnant women who fail to get proper medical care during pregnancy and delivery, as taking them to nearby towns, located as far away as 40 km away, along the rutted trail in vehicles or on bamboo stretchers has proved troublesome.
“Electrification is set to be a prime driver of infrastructure development in the panchayat. With a paved road to boot, a good share of the problems will be resolved,” said Prameela Devi, member of Kerala State Women’s Commission, who chaired a meeting of some 15 departments at Edamalakudy on Friday to seek solutions to pressing issues facing the tribespeople.
