Power in Palakkad

A district in ‘God’s Own Country’ has entered the record books. Palakkad in Kerala has become the first district in the country to be fully electrified.

A district in ‘God’s Own Country’ has entered the record books. Palakkad in Kerala has become the first district in the country to be fully electrified. Kerala electricity minister AK Balan says electric power will very soon reach homes even in the remote tribal-dominated areas that haven’t had it for half a century. Moola Ganga, a tribal settlement bang on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in Palakkad district, will be one of the few tribal areas in India to get a power connection. A 20-km-long power circuit has been set up to take electricity to this tribal area in a forest in Sholayar grama panchayat that falls in Palakkad. The Kerala State Electricity Board, along with the assistance of the MP fund, the MLA fund, the SC/ST fund and money provided by local governments like panchayats and municipalities, has electrified houses in the 11 Assembly constituencies in the district to help Palakkad draft history. Well, it’s that rare-to-be-sighted thing: democracy at work, courtesy the proletariat—and comrades.

About The Author

Rahul Jayaram

The writer teaches at the Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities, Sonipat, Haryana

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