Elephanta Island finally gets 24/7 electricity, 1200 residents recount dark days

Maya Kathor Koli outside her home last week Until February 21 the island would get three hours of electricity supply from a diesel generator PicSuresh KarkeraTwenty years ago when my marriage was fixed I asked my mother where my husband lived Her reply Elephanta left me disturbed says Laxmi Manoj Sevekar 44 a resident of Gharapuri better known as Elephanta Island Just 10 km from Mumbai the island mdash the site of the UNESCOdeemed World Heritage site Elephanta Caves mdash didnt have fulltime electricity supply making life here quite unbearableSevekar who grew up in Bhaval village in Ulwe says the initial days after marriage were difficult There were no street lights and power was available for just three hours the day from 7 pm to 10 pm Every election thered be assurances of electricity but nothing would change Seventy years after Independence we have finally got our basic human rightOn February 22 the residents of Elephanta Island got access to 24hour electricity supply Sevenkilometre long underwater cables have been laid from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in a 15monthlong project that cost Rs 25 crore The 22 KV cable has four lines including one exclusive standby line to ensure highquality power to the islanders which should be sufficient to take care of future requirements The expense for the project was borne by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd MSEDCLFrom the 1980s until now the residents of Gharapuri ie Elephanta Island have lived with only three hours of electricity supply mdash 7 pm to 10pm On February 22 this year they finally started receiving 24hour electricity supply PicsSuresh KarkeraThe dark nightLocated 10 km to the east of Mumbai and two kilometres west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Elephanta has caves that contain Hindu and Buddhist iconography that date back to the 5th century Deemed a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 the island today receives a footfall of more than 1000 tourists national and international every day The islands population is 1200Comprising three tiny villages mdash Shet bunder Mora bunder and Raj bunder mdashGharapuris residents mostly belong to the Koli and Agri communities I was born here and this is my familys fourth generation on the island says Baliram Thakur recently elected Sarpanch of Gharapuri Our grandparents would farm and fish for a living The only other source of income was tourism but earlier on it the island wasnt very popular because of its distance from Mumbai With development and better modes of transport tourist footfall has increased and now we are almost completely dependent on tourism for income adds the 53yearoldThe Primary Health Centre has been shut for the last 14 yearsBaliram Bhoir 66 runs Mahesh Hotel just near the jetty He recalls When we were kids the nights were dreadful Women would have to finish cooking before dark and our days would end around 8 pm Our daily routine was totally dependent on sunlight We used to carry flambeaus at night if we needed to step out Every election politicians would talk about electricity but none delivered it We would watch Uran and other neighbouring islands light up but didnt know when our time would comeThe fight for lightIn the 1980s the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation MTDC along with the power ministry brought generators to the island Prabhakar Shinde an electrician by profession has been working at this generator house for the last 25 years When I was posted here diesel based electricity was provided to the homes and my task was to reach the generator house at around 645 pm and start generators so that villagers would get electricity from 7 pm to 10 pm That was a luxury for us he recalls After many years in the late 90s there were talks of laying electricity cablesPrabhakar Shinde who runs the MTDCrun power generating says not all houses have got the permanent electricity connection yetThe Shiv SenaBJP government had prepared the project at a cost of Rs 5 crore but nothing came of it We have to spend our nights in darkness Its horrible in the monsoon as due to the rough seas supply of diesel would also be cut offInverters came to the island in the late 90s but with the diesel generated electricity being limited their durability is also limited to seven hours While cellphones can be charged theres no network as theres no cellphone tower Basic household machines such as mixers refrigerators fans have to run on inverters and many households dont have themIn 1999 we saw the mammoth Jawaharlal Nehru Port project coming up in front of our eyes There was development just across the shore hardly a couple of kilometres from us but once again we were neglected Every villager would see JNPT shining with light big cargo ships arrivingdeparting but there was no difference in our life says Harishchandra Mhantre a souvenir stall owner and resident He adds that around that time residents having given up hope of a decent life on the island started migrating to Uran to seek jobs and better livesYears of neglectThe decades without electricity have left the islands infrastructure crumbling Vacated for the last 14 years the Primary Health Centre is a dilapidated structure now Theres not even a GP on the island For anything as basic as the flu or even emergency treatment residents have to go to Uran 30 minutes on a boat ride As the ferry service operates between 630 am and 515 pm anything outside this time frame requires a private boat ride Even education on the island is limited After Std X the children head to Uran to study When my kids would come home after a day at school thered be no way they could study at night so I asked both my sons to live in Uran with our relative says Sevekar Many residents have left home as they dont want their kids to suffer Due to this migration there are no students at the islands school between Std I and IIIWomen are hopeful that therell be more to their lives now than house work Men leave the house for work and meet many people during the day But with no electricity women in every house have had to immerse themselves in completing household chores before sunset So many of us dont have any knowledge of whats happening in the outside world says Maya Kathor Koli a fishing net weaverAlso read After 70 years of Independence Elephanta Caves gets electricityWith electricity we can watch news channels now In fact the very first news we saw was of our island getting electricity she giggles