The village had been electrified almost 75 years after Independence and the local people stayed up all night to allow the feeling to sink in.

This month, Shrishti Jaiswal bought a cooler for her family and her cousin Vipul is planning to buy a fridge this summer.

“It is the Modi-Yogi government that has lit up our lives – literally. For decades, we pleaded with politicians to electrify the village but no one responded,” says Vipul.

Tulai ka Nagla is a tiny hamlet in the Etah district of Uttar Pradesh. It remained dark, desolate and forgotten for decades.

“For us, Independence came in 2022 when we got electricity. We now have the freedom to live our lives and keep pace with the rest of the world,” says Payal, a class 9 student who spent her early years studying and staying with her uncle in Agra.

She further said, “We dreaded sunset for years because it meant darkness all around. But now the sun never sets here.”

The local MLA, Satyapal Singh Rathore, says, "It was unfortunate that the village remained in darkness for so long. Somehow, the place was left out of power department surveys for electrification in rural areas. When I came to know about the villagers' plight, I proposed to use my MLA-LAD funds to develop the necessary infrastructure for regular power supply.”

The local people recall how they coped without power.

“We had to go to neighbouring villages to charge our mobile phones and the local shopkeepers took advantage of the situation and started charging money for the facility. Several families shifted their children to their relatives’ homes so that they could continue with their studies. The situation was worse during the pandemic when movement was restricted,” recalls Avadhesh Bihari.

The local residents were also cut off from the rest of the world because no one had a television.

In the absence of electricity, medical facilities also dried up.

Bihari remembers to thank the then UP Power Minister, Shrikant Sharma who took note of the problem and directed officials to ensure electricity to the village.

A dedicated transformer of 63 kVA capacity and 22 power transmission poles were set up.

For electrification, a 350 metre-long power supply line was laid.

A local electricity department official said, “For the first time, I realised what electricity means to us, when this village got electrified. We tend to take things for granted but the happiness expressed by the people of this village made me realise the importance of certain things. People did not sleep for two-three nights because they wanted to stay awake and experience life with electricity.”

The Tulai Ka Nagla Village has a population of 340 and has 30 houses.