Draupadi Murmu’s Ancestral Village in Odisha To Get Electricity Connection For First Time

According to reports, the locals of Draupadi Murmu’s ancestral village go to the other villages in the neighbourhood to charge their mobile phones.

Presidential Election 2022 Latest Update: The Odisha government on Sunday started the electrification work in a portion of Uparbeda, the ancestral village of NDA presidential candidate, Draupadi Murmu, in Mayurbhanj district, after media reports surfaced that people in the village are living without electricity. However, Murmu is not living in that village now. She has shifted to Rairangpur, a municipal town which is around 20 kilometres away from her native village Dungurisahi of Uparbeda.

As per reports, the officials and workers of the Tata Power North Odisha Distribution Limited (TPNODL) reached Uparbeda with thirty-eight electric poles and 900-meter cables, conductors, and transformers with machines on Saturday to ensure the supply of electricity to the portion where it is yet to reach.

Notably, the Uparbeda village in Kusumi block has two villages Badasahi and Dungurisahi. While Badasahi is fully electrified, Dungursahi is yet to get electricity.

About 20 families who live in Dungursahi have not got any electricity connection till date and they heavily depend on kerosene lamps to survive in the darkness.

According to reports, the locals of the village go to the other villages in the neighbourhood to charge their mobile phones.

Murmu’s nephew Biranchi Narayan Tudu who lives at Dungursahi village along with his wife and two children, said they had requested authorities to provide electricity to Dungursahi but nobody paid attention.

“We had requested many people to provide electricity to our Dungursahi hamlet. However, no one paid any heed,” Biranchi’s wife told reporters.

However, after the outrage by the local people, the state government now started the work of installing electric poles and transformers in the village.

In the meantime, NDA candidate Draupadi Murmu on Friday filed her nomination for the post of President in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Murmu filed her papers in the chamber of the Rajya Sabha Secretary General and the Returning Officer in the Parliament House complex.

Apart from JD(U) National President Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel, leaders of NDA constituents were also present during her nomination. Leaders of Biju Janata Dal and YSR Congress, who had announced their support to Murmu for the post of President, were also present.