No Electricity in MP's Bead village, Locals Protest, Demand Free Kerosene

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim of electrifying the entire nation under Ujjwala Yojana fell flat when residents of Bead village of Dewas district held a protest and demanded free kerosene oil to be supplied to the village that still doesn’t have electricity.

Bead village falls under the Bagli Tehsil of Dewas district, which is a tribal area and is 8-10 km away from the town. The district electricity board recently claimed to have electrified the Bagli Tehsil and said that no house was left without an electricity connection. The board announced it during a programme, and also claimed to have put all the connections under the state government’s new electricity scheme that caps the electricity bills at Rs 200 a month.

The board’s claim has irked the residents of Bead village, where around 72 tribal families are living without electricity. They held protest outside the Tehsil office and gave a written complaint to the Tehsildar. They demanded either electricity or distribution of free kerosene.

At a time, when electricity has become as important as air, Bead villagers are putting up with the misery afflicted on them because of the negligence of the state government and the Centre.

Due to no electricity, the village goes to sleep after the dusk. The children can study only during the daylight, or sometimes in the light of the kerosene lamps, if the kerosene is available. The villagers travel eight to 10 km to grind the grains, or else, they are forced to use stone flour mill. They can’t charge their mobile phones in the village, and are forced to go to the electrified village or a town.

A resident, Meera Bai said, “It seems that we are living in the 19th century, we have no facility, electricity, roads and water. Our children and youths are suffering the most because of no electricity. They can’t even study, watch television, or use mobile phones. Due to the distance, we grind grains using stone flour mill.”  

She added, “We made several complaints to the officer concerned, but all fell on deaf ears. When the local electricity board claimed to have electrified our Tehsil, we planned to protest outside the office and demand electricity or give free kerosene.”

Another resident Raju Kamra said, “We have given written complaint to Bagli Tehsildar Sanjeev Saxena days ago and have demanded 24*7 electricity in our village. He has assured support, but, if he failed to deliver, we will sit on strike in front of his office until electricity reaches our home.”

When contacted, Bagli Tehsildar Sanjeev Saxena said, “We have received the complaint of no electricity in the villages, and they have given written complaint. We will soon conduct a survey and try to fix the issue as soon as possible.”

When asked about villagers’ demand of free kerosene, he refused to reply.

However, junior engineer of the electricity board of Bagli, Dinesh Kumar Chipa said that they will conduct a survey and try to address the issue. “But, we can’t provide electricity round the clock to that village, owing to the government's policy.”