Let there be Light and there was Light….

A village named Dwarpahari is located just 35 kilometers from the District Headquarters of Birbhum district. Approximately 400 tribal individuals reside in the village, spread across 75 households, with 85% of these households classified as deprivation category according to the socio-economic caste census. During a village-level meeting regarding the integrated implementation plan (IIP), the topic of electricity was raised. There were nearly 150 school-going children in the village. Despite the presence of electric poles, the lack of electricity forced these children to have an early dinner and retire to bed by 7:30 PM each day, which is when they should have been studying for the next day's school. Following the plan, a memorandum was created and submitted by the villagers to the Station Manager's office in Mallarpur. The Station Manager responded that the village falls under the jurisdiction of the Mohammad Bazar electric supply office. Consequently, the villagers approached the Mohammad Bazar Station Manager’s office. However, the Mohammad Bazar Station Manager stated that the village is under the Mallarpur electric supply zone. In the meantime, to resolve the issue, CSRA organized a meeting between the villagers and representatives from both electric supply offices, ultimately concluding that the Mallarpur electric supply office would supply electricity to the village. After persistent follow-up efforts, the villagers triumphed, and within a month, electricity was provided to the village, illuminating it. Now, children like Hopnti (13, Class VII) and Pano (10, Class V) can study in the evenings, and the villagers no longer have to eat dinner early. They expressed, “For the first time we have seen our village lighted at night. Now we can read in the evenings. There are many children in the village who did not attend school regularly, but now they are going.”