They see lights across river, but stumble in dark at home

According to Panchkula district records, Morni has 20 panchayats with 369 villages and hamlets — of these, Nanki Devi’s hamlet is one of the 90, each with 15-20 houses, that have never had electricity. These hamlets have no fans, TVs and refrigerators except for a handful of households that can afford a solar light.

Ask Pankaj, 8, a Class 3 student of Ghata, about his aim in life and pat comes the reply: “XEN” (an acronym used here to refer to an Executive Engineer in the electricity department). Pankaj has learnt from his father Darshan Lal, 37, who has never been to school, that only the “XEN” can bring light in their lives. But no “XEN”, or any other government official or politician has ever visited the hamlet.

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About 60 km from the district headquarters, Ghata is an hour’s walk from the main road at Neemwala village through unpaved muddy tracks passing through dense forest, rivulets and rough terrain. The hamlet has a total of 10 houses with a population of around 60 Ramdasia (Scheduled Caste) who, like other villagers in the area, cultivate maize, wheat, barley, chillies and mustard apart from monsoon vegetables.

When The Indian Express visited Ghata around 6.30 pm, just before dark, Pankaj’s mother Sushma Devi, 35, was busy making a meal of kadhi and makki ki roti. Her children Gurjeet, 14; Dimple, 12; Neeraj, 10 and Pankaj, 8, were racing to complete their homework.

When Sushma got married 15 years ago, her parents, who live in Bhedon village of Ambala district, were told that in “a few months” Ghata would be connected to power lines. “There was electricity at my father’s place even when I was born,” Sushma said.

As if to twist the knife, you can see the lights blinking in Kolon Wala Bhood village, on the other side of the Roon river that separates Panchkula district from Himachal Pradesh. Darshan Lal has been seeing those lights from his house since he was a child. “My parents passed away waiting for electricity. It is our bad luck that our village falls in Haryana,” says Lal.

Dinner done by 7.15 pm, Darshan Lal turns his attention to getting the children to their charpoys, all the time worrying that the kerosene oil left in the lamp will run out.

A neighbour cautions the family to take care of the kids since the previous night a 14-year-old girl was bitten by a snake when she stepped out to relieve herself — there are no toilets either in Ghata and its neighbouring villages.

The girl was taken to the nearest hospital in Raipur Rani, around 15 km away, and her life was saved, he adds.

Darshan’s son Pankaj studies at the Singhwala middle school, 2 km from Ghata towards Neemwala. That too has no electricity.

Seema Devi, an anganwadi worker, says the living conditions have forced her brother-in-law and others like him working in factories in Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, to settle there permanently.

Darshan Lal and his wife, however, take pride in revealing that they never forget to cast their votes in any election — this time they had elected BJP’s Latika Sharma as MLA from the Kalka constituency.

But there is a perceptible sense of disappointment when they take the name of BJP’s Rattan Lal Kataria, for whom they voted, who is now their MP (Ambala parliamentary constituency), and who “is also from a reserved caste” like them.

”Despite several representations about electricity and other problems, he has disappointed us like other politicians,” says Lal.

Political activist Vijay Bansal, of the Shivalik Vikas Manch, shows the numerous representations he has sent to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his predecessor, Congress’ Bhupinder Singh Hooda — according to protocol, the chief minister heads the Shivalik Development Board constituted in 1993.

Pawan Kumar Dhiman, member of the Shivalik Development Board, who also remained thrice as sarpanch of Bhoj Jabyal Panchayat and once Block Development Committee (BDC) member, says, “I am taking up the issue of electricity since 1993. Now we also feel ashamed of facing villagers. Our representations just become part of the official files for record and we keep getting assurances.”

In 2006, Haryana Renewable Energy Department (HAREDA) provided some of these hamlets, including nearby Kamradhi, with solar photovoltaic lights. But the batteries have long died, and no government official has returned to check on them.

Local officials and people’s representatives offer a common line — they will “sort out the problem”.

“It is little difficult to access these villages because of the hilly terrain. I will definitely pursue this,” says Panchkula Deputy Commissioner Vivek Atray.

BJP MLA Latika Sharma admits the issue is “a matter of shame”. “This area is very close to Panchkula and till date electricity has not reached here. I will take up the matter,” she says.

Rattan Lal Kataria, MP, says he wanted to take the Chief Minister to Morni but could not do so because the “election code of conduct (for the panchayat elections) has come into force”. “We have brought the issue to the CM’s notice… We will take it up on priority,” he says.

Nanki Devi’s question, however, remains unanswered.