Abhinav Vashisht
Kulu, February 12
The remote Shakti village in Gadaparli Panchayat of Banjar subdivision is now being connected to the mobile network. Airtel has built a telecommunications tower near Majhan village, which will be operational from tomorrow, connecting 10 villages of Panchayat.
Still wait for the road, power plants
The villages of Shakti, Maror and Shugad, which fall within the ecologically vulnerable Great Himalayan National Park region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, still lack power and road facilities to Shakti. However, nothing concrete has been done so far. The National Board for Wildlife has agreed to lay an 11 kV HT transmission line for these villages in March 2022. But the nod from the forest authority is still pending
The village of Shakti is in the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) region and does not yet have electricity or roads. However, various NGOs and the government have installed solar lights in the village.
After 75 years of independence, villagers will finally be connected to the rest of the world via cell phones. Even today they are deprived of basic facilities and have to walk 24 km to reach Sainj for important works.
The nearest road at Niharni is 18 km from Maror, 14 km from Shakti and 12 km from Shugad village. The trekking route is quite risky and becomes even more unsafe when it rains and snows. The local school is only up to
Class VIII and the pharmacy in Bah are 20 km away.
The villages of Shakti, Maror and Shugad still lack electricity and roads as they fall within the ecologically vulnerable GHNP region. The GHNP is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has caused technical disruptions to electricity and road supplies.
Kullu DC Ashutosh Garg, along with a team of officials from different departments, visited the villages in October 2021 to provide road links and power facilities.
The PWD authorities said in May last year that the issue of providing roads for the village of Shakti was under study. They added that a survey had been carried out for the construction of a road from Niharni to Shakti. But so far nothing concrete has happened.
The remote villages are hoping to get power soon, since the National Board for Wildlife gave its nod to laying an 11 kV HT transmission line in March last year. The State Board for Wildlife had given its approval, but approval from the Department of Forestry is pending. The project is valued at Rs 6.12 crore.
