By Dhanya Sri
As India has got a great potential to tap solar, wind and biomass, hydro power and sea wave power, we should look at these areas to help rural areas.

With a few months remaining for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's five-year tenure to end, it is now clear that the goals set by it under its flagship socio-economic development programme Bharat Nirman are likely to be missed by wide margins in at least four of its six components.

A 33KV power substation under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme has been scrapped because of the inability of the North Dinajpur administration to acquire land for the purpose.

District magistrate Sukumar Bhattacharyya said the project, whose foundation stone was laid in January this year, had been shifted from Gadahat, 100km from here, to Kishenganj in Bihar.

KENDRAPARA: Around 29 villages inhabited by 35,000 villagers within Bhitarakanika National Park have no proper road communication system, thanks to government indifference. Due to this reason, villagers, who mostly depend on agriculture and pisciculture, find it difficult to sell their products, particularly perishable items.

Former senior banker and Chairman of Highnoon Group of Companies Jawaid Tariq Khan has offered to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani free solar- based electrification of a village of the latter's choice. According to a press release here, details are being worked out between the Prime Minister's Secretariat and Highnoon Solar.

Agartala, Nov 5: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has agreed to provide financial support to 8,719 remote villages of 10 states, including 1,704 hamlets in the Northeast in the current fiscal.

The much hyped Rajiv Gandhi Vidyut Karan Yojana (RGGVY) in Angul district has made a little progress even as the deadline for the completion is near. The central programme was implemented in the district on March 2007 and after 19 months, only 80 out of a total 1625 villages has electricity supply.

The remote Tang gewog in Bumthang became the latest gewog to receive electricity under the rural electrification programme.