• In Odisha, 3.5 million homes yet to get electricity: Power minister

    More than 35 lakh households in the state are yet to have electricity connection, the series of steps taken by both the Centre and state government notwithstanding.

    State energy minister Pranab Prakash Das on Tuesday informed the assembly that of the families living without power, 15 lakh belong to the below poverty line (BPL) category. He added that there are 984 villages where power connection has not reached yet.

    The minister said the state government has decided to provide electricity to all homes by 2019. He added that the Centre has given more than Rs 1,224 crore to cover the villages without electricity.

    Das said Ganjam, Koraput, Sundargarh, Kalahandi, Balangir and Puri districts have more than one lakh BPL families who do not have electricity connection. He added that Rayagada district has 187 villages — the highest in the state — that are yet to get power. Kalahandi, Koraput, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh districts, each with more than 90 villages, face a similar situation.

    Jharsuguda, Puri, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jagatsingpur, Kendrapada, Khurda and Sonepur are the districts where all villages have electricity. Charles Woodson Jersey

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