India provides 24-hour electricity in Rakhine villages through solar plants

Narinjara News, 1 March 2023

The Indian government in New Delhi has constructed a number of solar plants in five villages under five townships of Rakhine State to help the residents get 24-hour electricity, said the residents.

The selected villages include Ganggar under Kyauk Phyu township, Phoung Khar under Taungup township, Owe Htin under Maungdaw township, Pyin Ma under Pauk Taw township and Chong Kya under Maebon township.

An official from the Indian consulate in Sittwe informed Narinjara News that the project was completed in December 2022. The construction began in 2020 with expenses from New Delhi.

"This was implemented in order to develop those areas of Rakhine State,” he added.

Ko Nyunt Win Chay,  a resident of Chong Kya village, said that the electricity has been provided since early February through the solar plants and the villagers are now getting electric power throughout the day.

"The electricity is useful for various activities including to watch television programs. We are very happy using the power supply for various works, but still not cooking food items with it,” he stated.

Chong Kya village has more than 70 households with a population of over 200.

The villager informed that if a family uses more than the specified unit of energy, they have to pay Kyats 500 per unit. The collected amount will be used for the maintenance of solar factories.

Ko Moe Chan, a resident of Phung Kha village, also informed that  they have been using the electricity since early days of February through the solar plants.He also added that they have to pay Kyats 2,000 per month for the use of electricity.

"Once the electricity is available in the village, the situation has slowly improved. Cooking with the electric oven has helped the families to avoid buying firewood at higher prices,” he added.

The concerned villages depend on waterways for communications and the task of laying electric wires in those villages still remains a challenging job. So the solar power arrangements have lately brought smiles to those villagers.