Electricity for tribal hamlet after 75 years in darkness

Udhagamandalam: Friday turned out to be a special day for residents of Melchembakarai a remote tribal hamlet near Adderley Estate in Burliar panchayat who had been waiting for electricity since Independence.
Forest minister K Ramachandran, who connected 21 of the 30 houses in the Kurumba hamlet to the power grid, said the rest of the houses will be electrified soon.“The government has been replacing huts in the hamlet with concrete houses under various schemes. Electricity connections will be provided to houses that were left out, after construction works are over.”
The government will take care of all needs of the tribal people, the minister added.
Burliar panchayat president Susheela, also a member of the Kurumba community, thanked the government for bringing electricity to the hamlet. “The residents are happy as the village is lit up. The hamlet has enough water sources for residents’ use. But it lacks a road. The residents have to walk 5km through the forest to reach schools and shops,” she said.
The electricity board installed 36 poles at a cost of 7.78 lakh to lay overhead power lines to the scattered settlement.
1.29 lakh was sanctioned by the Nilgiris district administration, under the collector's discretionary fund, towards villagers’ contribution to the electricity board.