Coimbatore: Wouldn’t a day without electricity at our houses be chaotic? Then, just imagine the plight of people in our immediate neighbourhood who are yet to get power supply. About 20 families residing at 10 houses near the government boys’ higher secondary school at SRT layout at Singanallur are such deprived lot.
We spotted a girl studying under the solar-powered street lamp near the school. She, however, couldn’t fully concentrate on her studies as she tried to shoo the mosquitoes away by waving and clapping her hands, while leaning onto the school wall.
“Studying under the street lamp is much better than studying with a lantern,” said the 15-year-old girl, who is the first person from the area to pursue higher education. About 10 children gradually joined her to study under the street lamp.
The 20 families, who reside in thatched houses, had been living in the same locality for more than seven generations without the power supply. “We had made several representations to the district administration and the chief minister’s special cell, requesting electricity connections to our houses, but in vain,” said, R Palaniammal, 60, a daily wage labourer.
The residents have all identity proofs, including aadhar card and voters id, at their present address, but government officials allegedly didn’t provide them power connection since the houses were built in poramboke land.
“Responding to one of our petitions, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) had in 2009 directed us to submit our identity proofs and pay the deposit amount,” R Maruthachalam, 45, another resident said. They subsequently paid more than 5,000 per house and brought meter boxes, along with the wires, but only to return them to the TNEB.
“We don’t know what happened. TNEB officials, who came to erect a pole, returned without even informing us,” he said pointing to the walls, where arrangements were made to set up meter boxes.
The residents said they have stopped seeking assistance from the government and started to live with what they have. ‘Students study under the street lamp, while we manage household chores with lanterns,” they said.
However, lack of power supply is still a big issue here. Residents find it difficult to spot the reptiles, especially snakes, which slither into their houses, due to poor lighting in the area. The incidents of snake bites are common in the area, where there is a thick vegetation.
When contacted, TNEB officials didn’t cite any reason for abruptly ending the process to provide electricity connection to the residents. “We will provide them power connection at the earliest, provided they submit a no objection certificate from tahsildar or deputy tahsildar,” an official, who didn’t want to be named, said.