Amdai Lights Up

On a cold evening in mid January this year, Amdai finally saw the light.As bulbs were simultaneously switched on for the first time in 227 h...

On a cold evening in mid January this year, Amdai finally saw the light.

As bulbs were simultaneously switched on for the first time in 227 homes in this small village bang on the border between Bankura and Midnapore districts, 200 km west of Kolkata, there was an impromptu celebration on the roads. Eight months down the line, the power party continues in this agricultural enclave.

At a time when wide swathes of the country are without power8212;over the next five years, the government seeks to provide electricity to 125,000 villages covering 78 million rural households8212;the 145 electricity poles in Amdai have ushered in nothing short of a revolution. From higher farm incomes to faster and easier communication with the outside world, to the simple pleasures of watching a 10-year-old Simanta Patra take his first sip ever from a chilled bottle of cola, the transformation is complete.

Agriculture is the biggest gainer, of course, with electricity ensuring that the average daily income has actually over these some months doubled to Rs 130. Three electric water pumps have been installed at Amdai, and the greater quantity of water drawn through them is providing new, more lucrative opportunities in farming.

Rice is the predominant crop in the area. Under normal circumstances, there is a yield per acre of 20 quintals in the kharif season, and 25 quintals in the rabi season. 8216;8216;The soil here is extremely fertile. With the surplus water we are getting, we can now consider growing supplementary crops along with rice. Since rice fetches a relatively low price, we can reduce the areas devoted to its cultivation and grow other crops like cauliflower, sugarcane and pulses, which fetch a far higher price,8221; explains Srikanta Prasad Chakraborty, secretary of the local farmers8217; collective, Krishak Samiti.

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Four homes now have phones. So, when a villager fell ill at night, they could get a doctor to come from a nearby town and attend to the patient within a few hours.

Communication with the rest of the country is also now possible. Four villagers now have BSNL phones at home. 8220;Just a week ago, Biswajit Patra fell ill at night, and we called a doctor from Katulpur to come here and attend to him within a few hours,8221; says Amit Ray, who says the emergency service is open to all villagers.

A plethora of electrical and electronic appliances can now be found inside the mud houses of Amdai. Radio and cassette players, and electric irons have found their way to the village. A couple of shops have bought refrigerators. Not surprisingly, TV sets are the favourite, with at least 25 families becoming proud owners. Once evening sets in, neighbours drop in for a dose of soap8212;and news.

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8220;For the first time in our lives, we have an idea of what is happening all over the world. You see, we don8217;t get any newspapers here. Before electricity arrived, we got our news from the occasional newspaper brought back by someone from Kotulpur. But this was rare,8221; says Krishna Das Rai, as a crowd gathers at his home for the evening fix.

While villagers swear there hasn8217;t been any power cuts thus far, as more and more electric pumps start being installed, excess load is a problem in neighbouring villages. And yes, some villagers have not been able to afford the installation of wiring and electric meter, and the monthly charges. But they too, everyone assures me, are working on it. The people of Amdai will have their power.