On The Bright Side: Chhattisgarh’s Chilkapalli Village Gets Electricity First Time After Independence

Chhattisgarh's Chilkapalli village has finally received electricity, marking a significant milestone in the region's development. This remote village, located about 50 km from the Bijapur district headquarters, had been without electricity since India's independence.

Chilkapalli is the sixth village in Bijapur to be electrified under the 'Niyad Nellanar' Yojana. Bijapur Collector Sambit Mishra expressed his joy at the development, stating that further electrification of villages is planned in the coming months.

Bijapur Collector Sambit Mishra told ANI, "It is a matter of great joy that electrification took place in Chilkapalli village on January 23. This is the sixth village where we have completed electrification, and we hope that in the next few months, we will electrify more villages systematically as soon as possible."

The electrification of Chilkapalli village is part of the Chhattisgarh government's 'Niyad Nellanar' Yojana under Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. It aims to provide basic amenities to tribal villages in remote areas, working to make these villages "ideal villages" by supplying essential services such as housing, electricity, drinking water, roads, bridges, and schools.

For the residents of Chilkapalli, electricity has brought significant improvements to their daily lives. "Earlier there was no electricity here. Now electricity has come, it is good for cooking food, it is also good for children to study at night," said a tribal woman.

Another resident of Chilkapalli village expressed her joy over her village getting electricity, saying, "Now that we have electricity, we can watch TV, cook, and even venture out at night without fear."

The village is about 50 km from the Bijapur district headquarters and is part of the Phutkel Panchayat. Until now, there hadn't even been a paved road connecting the village.

An employee of the electricity department in Bijapur, Faldoor, stated that commuting to set up electricity in Chilkapalli village was difficult, and it took 3-4 months for the electricity to reach there. "Commute was difficult (without electricity). The government officials talked to the villagers and then set up electricity here. The villagers say that now that the government has provided electricity, they can protect themselves from snakes and scorpions. It took 3-4 months for electricity to reach here," Faldoor said.

Not only has electricity finally reached this inaccessible village, surrounded by Naxal issues, but the deployment of the CRPF has also removed the dark shadow of Maoism that had previously plagued the area.

Notably, Sai had earlier reaffirmed the state's strong stance in eradicating Maoism, describing it as a cancer to society. "Our soldiers have achieved huge success and our government is working to end the Naxalism. Maoism is like a cancer and we will succeed in destroying it completely. We will fulfil the resolution of the PM and the HM. I salute the courage of our security force personnel and praise them... Naxalism is taking its last breath and we will end it by 31 March 2026," said Sai.