No electricity for Dalits in Okhaldhunga

OKHALDHUNGA, Dec 1: It might sound surprising that a village in Okhaldhunga district has no access to electricity just because the village is inhabited by Dalits. But this is a fate that these people have been living with for years even as the adjoining village has 24-hour electricity supply. Though electricity generated through a local Thotne river is supplied to Okhaldhunga VDC-9, the Okhaldhunga VDC-7 inhabited by Dalits has no access to electricity. The hydropower project built on Thotne River generates 125 kilowatts of electricity. Talking to Republica, Dalit locals complained that officials have deliberately deprived them of electricity. But the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) claims that it Thotne project does not generate enough electricity to be supplied to the Dalit village. “It is not a problem of inadequate electricity but the discriminatory attitude of the NEA officials toward us. They are indifferent to our plight as we belong to the Dalit community,” said Raj Bahadur Gorkhali of Okhaldhunga VDC-7. “Instead of supplying electricity to our village, NEA has been supplying electricity to Baruneshwar VDC-8 and Mamkha VDC-8,” he added. “It was in 2004 during King Gyanendra´s visit to the district that we had complained of the discriminatory treatment. King Gyanendra had the given direct instructions to electrify the village. But NEA officials held a meeting with the District Administration Officials and decided not to supply electricity to our village,” said Gorkhali. Besides the Dalit households, three Magar households in Okhaldhunga VDC-7, nine Gurung households and 18 other households in Okhaldhunga VDC - 7 have also been deprived of electricity. “It would be hard for one to believe that we have been living without electricity even as we live close to the district headquarters,” said Dilli Bahadur Nepali, another local. Meanwhile, Chief of NEA branch, Okhaldhunga, Ankush Raut said that they are in the process of electrifying all the villages in the district. source: REPUBLICA