In a positive development, several villages in the hilly-border areas in the Nowshera sub-division in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir were electrified by the Union government under the flagship Saubhagya scheme.
As per reports, the villages had no electricity even after 70 years of Independence. While speaking on the laudable development work in Rajouri, a local resident Abdul Hamid was quoted by ANI as saying “We’re grateful to govt. Earlier, our children couldn’t study. We had to go to another village to get phones charged,” he stated.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1325642724104523776?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAssistant Engineer Varun Sadotra, associated with the electrification, project informed, “A lot of border areas weren’t electrified even after 70 years of independence. So, under PM Modi’s Saubhagya scheme, far-off border villages were provided electricity, giving a boost to the rural economy.”
As per reports, about 44 Panchayats in Nowshera have been covered under the electrification project. Over 1500 hundred families living in these far-flung villages now have access to electricity. Saubhagya Scheme provides free electricity connections to poor households.
Village near LoC lights up after 73 years
Earlier, it was reported that three villages in North Kashmir, which are located in close proximity to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kupwara district, got electricity after 73 years. The villages of Keran, Mundian, and Patruu in the district remain cut-off for 6 months due to heavy snow. Besides, due to natural geographical barriers, the life of 14000 residents of the three villages remain endangered due to heavy shelling from the Pakistani side of the LoC.
A two-year-long electrification project was completed, which eased the woes of the local inhabitants of the Kupwara district. Under the electrification project, 979 utility posts, a receiving station, and a 33 Kilovolt line have been installed by the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL).