Inaccessible habitations electrified in Pulwama under Saubhagya

Pulwama, March 21 : Many inaccessible habitations and hard to reach areas in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district have been electrified under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana ( Saubhagya) during the past couple of years.
The scheme, launched in 2017 with the aim of providing last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all un-electrified households in rural areas, has come as a breather for residents of Batdalow, Gosainad, Gujjar Basti Wahab Sahab, Gujjar Basti Zantrag, Nagandar and other villages falling under Pampore Tehsil in this southern district.
Mohammad Junaid, a resident of Batdalow, a far-flung village in Khrew area, said it was a unique experience for him to see lamps in his house glowing with current electricity for the first time a year ago.
He said that they were having no electricity before June 2022 because of which they were facing immense hardships.
“The big issue was the night study of our wards. They would miss night study due to non-availability of electricity,” he said.
Another resident, Manzoor Ahmad, said that 7 households in the area were without electricity and that they had to move to other parts of the habitation to charge their mobile phones. He said that he used to travel around 5 kilometers to put his mobile phone on charger at a house of his relative.
The villagers were overwhelmed with joy when a 63 KV transformer along with new electric poles and wires were installed in the village in 2022.
Assistant Executive Engineer, ( AEE) PDD, Pampore, Javid Iqbal Talk, said that un-electrified and partially electrified areas were taken under the centrally sponsored scheme Saubhagya.
“We strived to cover all un-electrified area in our jurisdiction under this scheme,” he said, adding that the areas which were electrified include Gujjar Basti Batdalow, Gujjar Basti Wahab Sahab, Satpukhran Zantrag, Nagandar, Bathean and highly inaccessible Babseer.
He said that they had to carry electric poles and transformers manually at many places in these areas.
“The locals heaved a sigh of relief who had to face inconvenience in absence of electricity especially during winters,” he said.