http://www.kalingatimes.com/odisha_news/news2009/20090605_Dalit_boy_brings_power_to_native_village.htm
Dalit boy brings power to native village Kalinga Times Correspondent Kendrapara, June 5: Though it may seem hard to believe, residents of a far-flung seaside village in this part of the Odisha are now poised to reap the benefit of electricity – courtesy the academic brilliance of a poor Dalit boy. The state government goaded by the academic success of Ramakanta Sethy has drawn up a project to electrify Talachua village under Rajnagar tehsil. Since the dawn of independence, electricity eluded Talchua, predominantly fishermen-inhabited village and a prominent marine fishing hub of the district. Ramakanta, the son of a daily wager, had made the village proud after he had ranked 16 in the Class XII examination this year. A drop-out from the local school, he had taken a break from studies to take up cattle grazing to support poor parents. His fish trader uncle, however, spotted his talent and took him to Balasore. His academic hiatus had ended. Since then he never looked back. He excelled scoring nearly 80 percent marks in class XII exam, the result of which was published recently. Ramakanta is a native of Talachua village under Rajnagar block in Kendrapada. His father, Arabinda Sethi, is a farmer and mother Subhadra is a home-maker. He has three siblings. Overwhelmed by the success of the Dalit boy, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had recently felicitated him at the state secretariat. Later Energy Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak evinced personal interest in electrification of Talchua village after the Dalit boy had made a fervent request before the CM for electrification of his native village. “Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) authorities are going ahead to electrify the village in a month's time from now,” said energy minister Nayak. The electrification of the said village was on CESU's agenda. But the success story of the Dalit boy has definitely spurred the government to take up the project on a priority basis, Nayak told this correspondent. “A task force especially constituted for the project has already submitted its plan estimate. We are planning to electrify the village by June end. Over 300 families of the village would be benefited once the project gets complete, Nayak, who represents Mahakalpada Assembly seat of the district, said. ------------------------------------ ---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to [email protected] TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to [email protected] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
