Beldih (Potka), April 14: A village barely 40km from eastern India's biggest industrial hub Jamshedpur got electrified in 2010 but was plunged into darkness again in 2014 when the earlier transformer was replaced by a bigger one without the wires.
Beldih village in Hensalamda panchayat under Potka block, East Singhbhum, which got a taste of televisions, cellphones, tube lights and ceiling fans for a brief four years, is for the past two years waiting to switch them on. But, it might be a long wait, cynical villagers say, alleging Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (JUVNL) has no interest in the rural hub with a 100-odd population.
Electrified in 2010, Beldih ran into problems in 2014 when the existing single-phase 16KB transformer got defunct, to be replaced immediately by a 25KB transformer for a three-phase connection.
But, JUVNL did not supply the aluminium conductor steel-reinforced cable (ACSR), popularly known as weasel conductors, needed to connect the power source to households, making the process of re-electrification incomplete.
" Do saal se ja rahe hain subdivision office mein par log bolte hain taar nahin hai. (We have been approaching the block office for the past two years but officials say they don't have wires)," said Mangal Murmu, a Beldih villager. "Sometimes, we get fake assurances," he added.
"The single-phase connection was way better," said fellow villager Sita Murmu. "Our children could study at night. We could enjoy gadgets like TVs, ceiling fans and mobile phones. Now they lie idle. Nearby villages have electricity but we don't."
In Beldih, the only source of light after sundown is the solar lamp installed by former Jamshedpur MP Ajoy Kumar along with Tata Steel, which works for an hour. Village meetings are hurriedly held then.
Assistant engineer of JUVNL (Jadugora substation) R.K. Sinha, under whose jurisdiction the Potka village falls, claimed ignorance. "I've joined recently and know nothing," he said. "Why don't villagers come to me with data on the number of poles in the village and the distance between them," he added, seemingly unaware this technical job was something his office should do.
"Workers distribute transformers under pressure but fail to do the real work," Sinha added, noting down the name of village Beldih.
Contacted, well-known doctor-cum-social worker of Potka Anup Mandal laughed outright: "I don't how many times we approached him (Sinha) and made him write the name of the village and the problem. He has his answers ready."
In Jamshedpur, JUVNL's Singhbhum electricity supply area general manager S.K. Singh, however, admitted they were aware of the problem.
"The village will be electrified under central Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana. Tenders for this job will floated from JUVNL headquarters in Ranchi. I'd say power supply should resume later this year," Singh added.
Told about the villagers' discontent, he said: "We have a detailed project report ready at our Bistupur office. Villagers can come and have a look."
