JOWAI, Jan 30: Members of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), led by Jeremiah Dkhar, the president of its South West Border Circle, met with the Executive Engineer of the Power Department (MePDCL), Khliehriat Division, to highlight serious safety risks in the electricity distribution system in Mutong village.
They also followed up on the steps to supply electricity to the India-Bangladesh border villages in East Jaintia Hills District, Meghalaya.
The union raised concerns about the difficulties the public faces in obtaining electricity connections. It was pointed out that in many parts of Mutong, residents face significant problems due to a lack of adequate electric poles. As a result, people are compelled to use wooden or bamboo posts to support electric wires from the main poles to their homes, even when the distance extends several tens of metres.
The KSU emphasised that such measures by the villagers are not a matter of choice but of necessity, undertaken solely to ensure a continued supply of electricity. This situation, it stressed, is entirely due to the department’s failure to provide sufficient electric poles.
The union demanded that the department take immediate responsibility by conducting a thorough inspection and ensuring a proper electricity distribution system throughout Mutong. It also called for the urgent installation of electric poles to safeguard human lives and prevent any unfortunate incidents, particularly those posing serious safety risks to residents.
Regarding electricity supply to the border villages, the KSU South West Border Circle said that it had recently received responses from the concerned authorities following the Union’s request to the government for electrification of border villages and clarification on the continued lack of electricity.
Representations were submitted earlier to the Power Department, seeking details on the government’s plans and measures to provide electricity to the India-Bangladesh border villages in East Jaintia Hills district. According to the Power Department, the government intends to provide electricity to residents under the “Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme for Un-Electrified Households.”
When asked about the timeline for the commencement of work, the officer stated that, if possible and barring any obstacles, the Power Department would begin around March-April of the current year. The scheme is expected to cover border villages including Lejri, Lahalein, Huroi, and Hingaria, as well as all Border Security Force outposts along the India-Bangladesh border.
The union also appealed to the Power Department to give due importance to these two demands, so that the initiatives may serve as a blessing for rural communities, particularly the residents along the border, who act as protectors of the land and the indigenous community as a whole.
