This Diwali, a tribal village in Tamil Nadu has electricity for the first time

On October 16, the Adivasi village of Thoomanur, 327 km from Chennai, woke to electrified houses for the first time. With 80 electric poles, finally built at a cost of Rs 40 lakh, 50 tribal families get to enjoy the festival of lights with well-lit houses.

The Tamil Nadu government has gifted these families mixer grinders, fans, and television sets, among other things. The tribals invited local legislator VC Arukutty and officials from the forest department and electricity board to the inaugural ceremony. Speaking to The News Minute, Shanmuga Sundaram, the headmaster of Panchayat Union Middle School, which had been sporadically powered by solar energy and which also faced a lot of water trouble, said,

We are very happy. The people at that place are seeing electricity for the first time. People who live below (Coimbatore), struggle without electricity, even when it is for 10 minutes. It’s great that the kids have finally got electricity. They finally get to experience Deepavali.

According to reports, two villages — Sembukkarai and Thoomanur — had submitted their plea for electricity over four years ago. However, Sembukkarai was electrified in June this year. These villages, where the primary occupation is agriculture, welcomed the new development in their settlements.

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The occasion was celebrated with music and dancing with Arukutty and officials from the forest department, says a report by Mango News. The MLA danced and sang with the tribals, welcoming the new development, and was joined by the forest officials too.

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