This is lit: Electricity for Gorai hamlet after 70-year darkness

Adani Electricity, which took over the energy business in the city from Reliance Energy, started the work of laying underground cables and setting up a substation to supply power in March this year.

An 11-year struggle for electricity for 52 families residing in a Gorai hamlet near the city came to an end on Friday. Jhamjad Pada, located in a remote hilly area of Gorai, got power supply more than a decade after they had first applied for a power connection in 2008.

Jhamjad Pada, located in a remote hilly area of Gorai, got power more than a decade after they had first applied for a connection in 2008. The hamlet has been in existence for around 70 years. (HT Photo)

The hamlet has been in existence for around 70 years.

Adani Electricity, which took over the energy business in the city from Reliance Energy, started the work of laying underground cables and setting up a substation to supply power in March this year.

Ishwar Kisan Nam, a resident of the hamlet, 20km from the city, said their lives will change for the better now.

“We somehow lived through all these years. Now our children will have a bright future,” Nam said.

As the land belongs to the district administration, it took time to complete the procedure, sources said.

A spokesperson from Adani Electricity said, “We are delighted to have completed the electrification of Jhamjad Pada village in Gorai. We have been able to carry out this entire effort with the help of the families of the village. Seeing the faces of these villagers happy as they saw their homes brightly lit up was an extremely satisfying experience.”

In February 2018, the Gharapuri island, which houses the Elephanta Caves, got permanent power supply for the first time after Independence. Though located only 10km off the Mumbai coast, the island, housing caves designated as a UNESCO world heritage site, had been powerless for decades.