Electricity reaches Harishchandrapur’s Anupnagar village after decades
Malda: For decades, the residents of Anupnagar, a Bengal-Bihar border-side village in Harishchandrapur block of Malda district, lived in darkness. With no electricity, families had to cross over to nearby areas just to charge their mobile phones. Every evening the entire locality would be shrouded in pitch darkness. Despite repeated appeals, neither Bengal nor Bihar authorities took the initiative to bring power to the area.
However, that long wait ended. Thanks to the intervention of Malda District Magistrate Nitin Singhania, power lines were finally installed and electricity lit up Anupnagar for the first time.
As bulbs flickered on, residents rejoiced, calling it a historic day for their community.
“This falls within our responsibility. The moment I was informed, I took immediate action. I must thank the electricity distribution officials for their swift work,” said District Magistrate Singhania.
The breakthrough came after Rabiul Islam, Karmadhyaksha of Agriculture, Irrigation and Cooperative at the Malda Zilla Parishad, raised the matter with the administration. “I was unaware of the problem earlier. The moment I came to know, I reported it to the District Magistrate. He acted very quickly,” Rabiul said. However, opposition leaders seized the moment to criticise the ruling party. BJP district committee member Kishan Kedia remarked: “It is shameful that in over seven decades of independence, an entire village remained without electricity. The blame lies first with the Left and later with the Trinamool.”
While Trinamool has begun highlighting the development as their achievement, residents recall how political promises over decades had never materialised. Across the road, in the Bihar section of the border village, residents still await electricity. “At least now we can charge our phones at our neighbours’ homes,” one of them said, half hopeful and half disappointed. For Anupnagar, though, Sunday marked the end of an era of darkness.
