MADIKERI: The faces of the villagers of Devarakolly are bright with hope. Their dark days are over now. Thanks to the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme, Devarakolly received electricity supply after 64 years of independence recently.Deverakolly is just 16 kilometres away from Madikeri and lies on Mangalore State Highway. The village has a population of 400 people. Gram Panchayat Member Saidalavi, senior citizens Krishna, K Nagesh and K Ramesh, with the support of the people, strove hard to get a project under Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme for their village. There are 95 houses and at present, 85 houses have received the benefits of the scheme. The income of these families is low and they are all grouped under the BPL category. “We used to get three litres of Kerosene per month for our lamps. Earlier, it was nightmare during night times,” the villagers said. A good road connectivity and the State Highway helped them to get the project.K U Bhagya, a housewife, expressed happiness as she and her children now need not have to travel one kilometre to watch TV as electricity come to their house now. “The Kerosene has become costly. Thanks to the electricity, our children can study well at night now,” she added. Subramanya, Assistant Engineer from CESC, said, “ The villagers were eligible for the scheme. We have provided one bulb to the beneficiaries and if they want more, they can approach the officials and send a proposal through a proper channel.”Ibrahim Gangolli, a villager, said, “We are able to get the electricity supply through strong will and continuous efforts. Our dream has come true.” The village has natural water supply from the mountain and the houses get water through pipes. It does not have a primary health centre. Some houses have solar light facility. The villagers have to travel eight kilometres to get treatment at Mad-enadu’s health centre. Ibrahim said their next aim is to get a BSNL tower as the villagers want connect themselves to the rest of the world.
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