Where there is no electricity, solar lighting has come as a great boon to rural communities. It allows rural families to extend their workday into the evening hours. Many villages where solar lights are installed see an increase in their economic activity levels.
In a small settlement called Pam under Daksa Geog in Mongar Kheng region the installation of solar lighting has given the villagers a new lease of life. It is one of the remot and backward villages in Mongar Dzongkhag. The village is three-four days walk from Mongar.
Until recent months, this village has remained in complete darkness. Now, under the UNDP-GNH project all the 17 households have been provided with solar lighting. This has helped the people to extend their work into the late evening hours. The farmers say that they can not only keep themselves clean but also helped conserve the environment. Now, they don’t have to cut down trees for lighting their homes.
The solar lighting has benefited the women a lot. According to Sonam Pelzom, they can now do their domestic chores in the evening. She also gets time to weave in the evening.
As the villagers of Pam are extremely happy with their new life, four households of Gorthongla, under the same Tshowog have been deprived of the facility. They say that they have apprised the Geog authorities time and again but to no avail.
However, the Daksa Gup, Ugyen Dorji, said that Gorthongla has been left behind as there are plans to electrify the village in the 10th Five Year Plan.
It is a blessing in disguise for the people of this village. But, for now they will carry on with their routine life while their immediate neighbors have got a new lease of life.
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