For the 1st time, 17 remote Naxal-hit villages get electricity

Seventeen villages nestled among nearly inaccessible mountains and dense forests in Naxal-hit Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district of Chhattisgarh have got electricity from the supply grid for the first time, officials said Friday.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

About 540 families will benefit from the electrification, which has been done at Rs 3 crore under the Mukhyamantri Majratola Vidyutikaran Yojana, they said.

Due to the difficult terrain, reaching these areas was extremely challenging amid the Naxalite threat. Providing the electricity supply through the grid was no less than a mission in these villages, said an official statement. The villages had access to solar power to light up bulbs, but faced maintenance issues. In many villages, solar panels got stolen, forcing children to study under kerosene lamps, said officials.