Patna, March 27: Over the past one decade, Biharis have turned cellphone savvy. But power is till a far cry for them.

With 53 per cent surge in mobile users, 55.5 per cent families in the state have access to cellphone or landline phone. Yet, 82.4 per cent of the families still have to depend on kerosene to light their houses.

Cut to the brighter side. In 2001, only 2.2 per cent people had access to either landlines or cellphones.

Gopalganj district tops the chart of cellphone users in the state with 70.3 per cent people availing the facility. Siwan stood second with its 69.5 per cent population using mobiles. Rohtas with 64 per cent and Saran with 62.1 per cent mobile users, respectively, follow.

The percentage of cellphone users in Patna is just 61.7 per cent. Katihar recorded the lowest percentage of mobile users with a meagre 36.2 per cent population depending on the fastest growing means of communication.

A comparative study on houses, household amenities and assets based on the census conducted in the state between May 15 and June 28, 2011 was released by Bhaskhar Mishra, deputy registrar-general, Director of Census Operations, Bihar, on Tuesday. Principal secretary C. Ashok Vardhan was also present.

The most shocking finding of the study is on the availability of electricity in the state. About 82.4 per cent of the families still have to depend on kerosene for light at night. The number of such families, however, slightly declined from 89.3 per cent in 2001.

The statistics revealed that electricity was the source of light for only 16.4 per cent families. According to the 2001 census, about 10.3 per cent families were using electricity as the source of light.

There was a growth of about 6.1 per cent on this front in 10 years, Mishra said.

In urban areas 66.7 per cent families depend on electricity to keep their houses illuminated. Patna recorded the highest number of such families with 57.1 per cent people using the facility. Arwal has the lowest users — 1.9 per cent families.