Anantnag

Locals danced to their hearts to celebrate the occasion when the electric bulbs lit up in their homes in village Tethan, barely 50 km from the district headquarters of Anantnag.

This village of 200 people in south Kashmir had lived without electricity for seven decades after the independence of India.

They managed with traditional resources like wood for energy and candlelight at the night.

The village is now electrified under the 'Prime Minister's Development Package', a central government scheme.

Fayaz Ahmad Sufi, an official of Anantnag's Power Development Department, said: "We started the networking process in 2022, but there was a problem of tapping a high-tension line." However, today electricity has been provided to this remote area. We have installed a 63 VK transformer here.

He added: 'The villagers have seen electricity for the first time in 75 years.

Videos on social media show village residents dancing and celebrating.

Journalist Ashraf Wani posted a video of the local villagers dancing: 

Celebrations after electricity reached in Tethan Top #GurjarBasti, #Anantnag
In South #Kashmir after Independence @GoodNewsToday @manojsinha_ @pddjkofficial pic.twitter.com/SkGYmgbUBL

— Ashraf Wani اشرف وانی (@ashraf_wani) January 9, 2023

A resident Fazaluddin Khan said: “We have seen electricity for the first time today. Our children will now read under the light of an electric bulb. We are happy. We faced a lot of problems due to the lack of electricity. "We used to rely on traditional wood for our energy needs until now. Our problems are now solved.

According to the Ministry of Electricity, all 18,374 inhabited villages in the country have been electrified till 28 April 2018.

Besides, 1,305 uninhabited villages have also been connected to the power supply.

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According to a 2020 report by the Delhi-based think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water, 96.7 percent of Indian households are now connected to the grid, while 0.33 percent rely on off-grid power sources.