Celebration of Ujjawal Bharat, Ujjawal Bhavisya- Power@2047 at Ravangla, Sikkim

Namchi, 25th July(IPR): As part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ – to celebrate 75 years of India’s Independence, The Ministry of Power in association with the Namchi District Administration, Power Department, Government of Sikkim and NHPC Ltd organized a ‘Bijli Mahotsav’ at Rabangla Community Hall, today.
It may be mentioned here that the ‘Bijli Mahotsav’ was used as a platform to celebrate the collaboration between the State and the Central Government. The mahotsav also highlights the important milestone achieved in the power sector.
Some of the key highlights are, 169 GigaWatt(GW) of generation capacity added, transforming our country from power deficit to power surplus, 1.6 lakh km of transmission lines added, connecting entire country into one grid running on one frequency, emerging as largest integrated grid in the world, Achieved 100% village electrification (18,374) in 2018 and 100% household electrification (2.86 Cr), Rs 2.02 Lakh Cr outlay for system strengthening which has increased power supply in rural increased from 12 hours in 2015 to average 22.5 hours at present, Fastest-growing RE capacity – doubled from ~76 GW in 2014 to ~160 GW now; Achieved 40% RE Gen. capacity mix in 2021 and stands 4th globally.
The program was attended by Area MLA (Barfung Constituency) Shri. TT Bhutia as the Chief Guest.
Present amongst others were, DC (Namchi) Shri M. Bharani Kumar, PCE (Power Department) Shri P.M Sharma, ADC( Namchi) Shri Anant Jain, DE( Power Department) Shri. Pranay Karki, SDM(Ravangla) Miss Trisang Tamang, BDO(Ravangla) Shri Upendra Rai along with senior officials of NHPC limited and Power Department.
The program was also attended by Zilla Panchayats, Panchayats, students from Jawaharlal Nehru Vidhyala, Ravangla and Namchi Girls Senior Secondary School alongside the public from nearby villages.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest Shri TT Bhutia extended his gratitude to the concerned department for organising such insightful program for the benefit of public. Further, he also acknowledged the efforts and initiatives undertaken by the both the Central and State government in transforming the nation from a power defecit to power surplus country in energy sector. Further, he also emphasised people from all walks of life to make themselves aware about the need for energy conservation.
DC Shri Bharani Kumar encouraged the gathering to switch towards renewable sources of energy and suggested the Power Department to look into the feasibility on the use of rooftop solar panels on a pilot basis in urban areas of the district. Besides, he also motivated the students to delve into the scope of renewable energy sector as it provides a sustainable job opportunities in the future.
PCE Power Deparment Mr. PM Sharma informed about various achievements made till date in the power sectors in the state. He also briefed about the flagship schemes and initiatives such as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and the Integrated Power Development Scheme launched by the central and state governments for the benefit of electricity consumers. In addition, he gave brief overview on the advantages of installing of prepaid smart electricity meters in the urban households. He also enlightened the gathering about the role and changes needed in consumers behaviours to reduce the dependency on electricity usage.
During the course of the program, the beneficiaries gave feedbacks on major flagship schemes namely DDUGJY and IPDS.
To engage with the visitors and guests, various cultural programmes, screenings of short films and plays on the energy conservation were displayed and performed by students of Namchi Nehru Yuva Kendra and Namchi Government Girls Senior Secondary School.
The Bijli Mahotsavs are being celebrated all over the country under the umbrella of Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047 for more public participation and getting across the developments in the power sector to the citizens at large. The grand celebration of this Mahotsav will be organised in Namchi on 30th July.