|
|
Publication:
Economic Times
Ahmedabad;
|
Date:
Nov 13, 2006;
|
Section:
Gujarat Reloaded;
|
Page Number:
3
|
|
|
Plugged In: Gujarat 1st to have all villages electrified
Our Bureau CHAMPANER
GUJARAT became the
first state in the country where electricity has reached all the villages.
President Dr APJ Kalam dedicated the Jyotigram Yojna to the nation on Saturday
in historical town Champaner in Panchmahal district.
All
18,065 villages of the state have now access to three phase
uninterrupted
electric supply.
The state government commissioned the network of 56,599 km long
cables and 12,621 new transformers under its ambitious Jyotigram Yojna
in 30 months with an investment of about Rs 15,000 crore.
Enthused with the 100% electrification in the state Dr Kalam said,
"With this important infrastructure in place Gujarat can think of
complementing it with the connectivities such as physical connectivity,
electronic connectivity and knowledge connectivity to the rural comp! lexes
leading to economic connectivity of the village complexes. Thus, the provision
of quality electric power can lead to creation of three hundred PURA complexes
covering the eighteen thousand villages of the state."
This will further enhance the overall economic activity and the
prosperity of Gujarat as a whole, he added. The scheme would also cover
9,681 outskirts in the state.
"Jyotigram Yojna would supply uninterrupted power to households
and cottage industry while farmers would get power for eight hours for
irrigation. We have taken a big leap in development with electrification
of all the villages. With this we are now five years ahead of other states
in the country," Saurabh Patel, minister of state for planning, finance
and energy told ET.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the uninterrupted
power supply would enable the villages to improve their standard of livi!
ng as well as productivity
. Dr Kalam also dedicated Champaner-! Pavagadh
heritage site to the nation and acknowledge the status of this site as
UNESCO's World Heritage Site. He suggested that the large number of tourist
spots in Gujarat can be made more interactive by customising it in real
time for any user who is willing to pay.
|
