New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that thousands of villages have been electrified, since NDA government came to power.

Interacting with citizens from villages across the country, which have been electrified since 2014, through video bridge, the PM said;

‘Unlike the false promises given by the previous government, the present government has walked the talk of electrifying every village. The government not only focused on electrification, but also reformed the distribution systems across the country.’

The PM said these 18000 villages, which were not electrified even after 70 years of independence, were electrified in the last four years.

The last one to be electrified was Leisang village of Manipur in the North-East sector on April 28, 2018.

Mr Modi said it was difficult to electrify the last 18000 villages, as most were in remote areas, hilly areas and areas with poor connectivity.

He added that despite all the difficulties, a dedicated team of people worked hard to ensure that the dream of electrifying every village was achieved.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the government has changed the situation in Eastern India, which had 14,582 non-electrified villages out of 18,000 These included 5790 villages in the North East.

The government accords priority to the development of Eastern India and with complete electrification, now Eastern India can play an even bigger role in India’s development journey,’ he added.

The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana was started with the objective to electrify each and every house in the country. More than 86 lakh household have been electrified through the Yojana, so far. The Yojana is on a mission mode and will ensure electric connection to around four crore households, Mr Modi said.

Interacting with the Prime Minister, beneficiaries from far away villages explained that electricity has transformed their lives forever.

From completing work before the sunset and forcing children to study with kerosene lamps, electrification has made life very easy.

Most beneficiaries said that there has been an overall improvement in the quality of life. The beneficiaries also thanked the Prime Minister for bringing light into their houses.

Expressing delight in interacting with the villagers from the recently electrified 18000 villages, the Prime Minister said ‘People, who have not seen darkness, don’t understand the meaning of illumination. Those who have not spent their lives in darkness, don’t realise the value of light.’

The interaction covered the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – ‘Saubhagya’ scheme.

This is the tenth interaction in the series by the Prime Minister through video conference, with the beneficiaries of various government schemes. (UNI)