70 Yrs Post Independence, U’khand Village Still Lives in Darkness

Despite govt’s electrification claims, Ganganagar village in Uttarakhand still waits for freedom from darkness.

The 170 families in Ganganagar village still survive by the light of candles and lanterns.

Image Courtesy: ANI

Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj

It’s been 70 years since India got its independence, but despite several government claims of electrifying the entire country, Ganganagar village in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district still waits for its freedom from darkness.

The 170 families in this village still survive by the light of candles and lanterns. Ria Goswami, a student, says that she finishes all her studies in the day itself. “Sometimes we try to study with the help of candlelight in the evening. But even that is not always possible,” she adds.

Locals say that the lack of electricity has affected everything, including marriage prospects, since families are unwilling to marry their children in a village without electricity.

We admit that there are problems. We are unable to provide electricity to the village. The government is doing all it can to solve the issue. We hope it will be resolved soon. Currently, we have installed solar lights in the area. 

Vinod Kumar, District Magistrate, Nainital

He added that efforts were going on at various levels- governmental, through NGOs etc to resolve the problem.

(With inputs from ANI.)