Phulbari, Feb 2: Meet Kanthu Marak, a 67-year-old man from the village of Kantarongre, a village just about 4 kms from the heart of Chibinang, one of the busiest spots in the entire state of Meghalaya. He is an affable man, sometimes given to little biri and a little drink among friends. There is nothing extraordinary about him other than the fact that he lives in a village which hasnot experienced advantages of electricity as yet.
Habilson M Marak, a resident of Bangranggre close to the village of Chibinang, who is baffled by the power bills his neighbours have been getting when his entire village is not even connected to the power grid. There are posts in his village but these have never been connected to any electricity conducting line to any house in his village. He has been going from pillar to post to find out why.
Having been informed of the village of Kankarongre by a friend, I decided to pay a visit along with two friends, one a social activist, Peter A Sangma and another a part time businessman. We arrived at about 6 PM, having heard that the village had no power lines despite Meghalaya attaining statehood 51 years ago and India achieving independence in 1947. The village residents have not ever seen a power line connected to their homes.
Arriving at the village, we were greeted by 6- year-old Kanthu, who told us that he was born in the village. He took us to the house of the Nokma, Sebalson Sangma. His house however was lit, which he explained was through a private line that he had purchased like nine other residents of the same village.
“We have a total of about 45 households. We have 40 job cards in our village and the last survey done in our village. We have had an increase of at least 5-6 housholds despite the fact that there is no electricity in our village,” said Nokma Sebalson.
The harrowing tales that followed from the villagers simply made everyone of us in attendance hang our heads in shame. India, and particularly Meghalaya had failed the village, throwing them literally under a bus.
“We have not had electricity in our village since I was born and even before that. We have seen our elders passed away before our eyes without ever being witness to one of the modern wonders – electricity. What can we say, we have tried but failed,” informed Kanthu.
When asked if they had contacted authorities on the matter, the villagers nodded but stated that they not only ran from pillar to post but also tried everything to get power lines into their village.
“We met the MeECL authorities in Phulbari (which has a sub division). They asked us to contact the Garobadha office. When we reached Garobadha, they said the files were in Tura, Rongkhon. When we reached Rongkhon, there was no office but just the power grid itself. We have been going around in circles since but no one has heeded our pleas,” said Kanthu.
The villagers informed that the power department carried out three surveys in their village raising hopes of connecting to the power grid but these were all false alarms.
“Every time they come to our village, it raises our hopes that we will finally get what has become a basic amenity but despite three surveys and assurances, we are still living in the dark. We have lost all hope of electricity despite our best efforts,” informed another resident, Nidila Marak.
When contacted on the situation, a lineman, identified as Boro, confirmed the surveys but when asked as to why power lines were not connected, he feigned ignorance and asked for the JE or SDO to be contacted on the matter. The SDO of Phulbari however could not be contacted.
Kanthu said that like many in the village, they improvised and sought solar energy.
“My home runs on solar, not by choice but by necessity. Many of my neighbours also have moved to solar energy but then it is not enough for our entire home. The summers are killing with no electricity to run our fans,” he said.
Others, informed the Nokma, were using generators to live through the tough times.
“It is extremely costly to run these and most of my village people are low-income folks who can hardly afford food, forget generators. Some of us who could afford private lines, did so through our connections,” said Sebalson.
The same evening, after news of our visit to Kankarongre, we received another call from a resident in the village of Bangranggre.
We moved the next morning to the village and were in for a bigger shock. At least 50 households from Bangranggre and another 70 households from nearby Matramchigre were going without an electricity connection since the country gained independence.
What is more shocking was the fact that the department seemed to rubbing it into the villagers by providing some households with bills despite no electricity.
The villages fall under the Tikrikilla constituency in West Garo Hills and according to the villagers has not seen electricity in their homes from the time they were born. Ironically, one of the residents of the village is a lineman with the MeECL but for reasons unknown has never taken up the issue of non-existence of electricity in the village.
Attempts to contact the village lineman failed as the number was switched off.
All attempts to contact the department in question failed as no one seemed to have an answer to why they actually failed the three villages in question. There was also silence on the front of the public leaders on how they have forsaken these people despite them being their own people.
By Biplab Kr Dey