Vijay Rawat, 52, a labourer based in Malauli village of Gosainganj area in Lucknow, was all smiles when he got a power connection in his house under the Saubhagya scheme on Monday.
“Now, my home also has power and my daughter can study under LED bulb,” he said with a glint in his eyes.
“Earlier, I could never have dreamt of an electricity connection in my life as I never had the money for it. But under the Saubhagya scheme and on the recommendation of village head Subodh Singh, LESA officials gave me a power connection free of cost,” he said.
Another resident Shri Kishan Pal said, “As I have a power connection, I will bring a fan for my daughter. It was my dream that she sleeps under the fan.”
“I was given a ceiling fan by my father and it was rusting for years. Today, I have taken it out and will get it fitted tomorrow. Electricity will also help my kids in studies,” said Sangeeta, 35, of the village.
Sonam, 14, a Class 8 student, said: “I used to go to my friends’ house to study during the night. But now I will study in my own house and will be able to sleep comfortably under the fan. Earlier, I was not able to sleep inside the room due to mosquitoes and humidity.”
“We all are poor, we never had the money to take any sort of power connection, but now the connection is given free by the government. I have seen light in my home before my death. This is a big thing for me as my son wanted to have power connection for his children who were forced to sleep inside the room because of security reasons,” said Maya, 60, another resident.
{{/usCountry}}“We all are poor, we never had the money to take any sort of power connection, but now the connection is given free by the government. I have seen light in my home before my death. This is a big thing for me as my son wanted to have power connection for his children who were forced to sleep inside the room because of security reasons,” said Maya, 60, another resident.
{{/usCountry}}Village head Subodh Singh said, “Earlier, only a handful of people who were rich had power connections in the village. Today, out of 450 houses only a few are left powerless.”
Rajesh Yadav, a panchayat member, said, “Electricity will also bring prosperity in the area. I am happy to see everyone enjoying and feeling at par with everyone.”
Ashu Kalia, superintendent engineer (LESA), said: “We will give connections to every house and this will ensure social equality which is the objective of this scheme.”
Under this scheme, BPL families are given free power connections while others are charged only ₹500. This amount is not taken at the time of connection, but is taken in installments of ₹50 per month with the bill, said Madhukar Varma, GM, LESA (Cis Gomti).