After decades in darkness, Malekudiyas to see light

A two-decade-long demand for electricity connection to the homes of Malekudiyas, the district’s indigenous tribals, is on the threshold on being realised.

The Malekudiyas are residing at Banjarumale in the Charmadi Ghat area.

“The necessary work was completed a week ago and 46 houses in the Banjarumale Malekudiya Colony will receive electricity connection within a week,” Shivashankar, assistant executive engineer (electrical), at the Mescom Belthangady division, told DH.

The tribal families are living at Banjarumale for three generations and are dependent on agriculture for livelihood.

Renewable sources

Since a decade, however, the homes of the tribals had been illuminated with power generated from renewable sources of energy, including a pico hydro power plant installed by Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP).

A resident of the colony, Ashoka, said that they had appealed to the district administration to provide electricity connection as they had been facing frequent breakdowns and repair work in the renewable energy systems.

Their decades-long campaign bore fruit with Yenepoya and Jordania estates submitting no objection certificates (NOCs) to Mescom and allowing HT and LT lines to pass over their properties. Since March this year, power lines were being drawn from the grid through the thick tropical forest up to a distance of 12 km in order to provide electricity to the tribal colony, which is located about 99 km away from Mangaluru.

Saubhagya scheme

“Up to 46 houses of the tribals are electrified at a total cost of Rs 1.2 crore – including the cost of installing three transformers and over 450 electricity poles – under the Central government’s ‘Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – Saubhagya’ scheme. The electricity will be billed under L2 tariff,” Shivashankar explained.

He added that the tribals are exempt from paying for the connection. “In order to instal irrigation pump sets, however, they need to submit separate applications,” he clarified.

“The community hall cum Anganwadi centre in the Colony, which is to be renovated by Yenepoya, has not been provided with electricity,” Shivashankar said.

Power to 650 homes outside KNP

Shivashankar, assistant executive engineer (electrical), at the Mescom Belthangady division, said that, under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and the Saubhagya scheme, 650 houses outside the Kudremukh National Park (KNP) have been provided electricity connection. The houses include those at the Banjarumale Malekudiya Colony.

Residents of hundreds of houses in Kuthlur and other villages in KNP too have submitted applications for power connection, he informed and added that they were helpless as the Forest Department does not permit drawing of power lines through the forest.