956 Chenchu families provided solar power: Minister

Yerragondapalem: Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar announced that 956 Chenchu families have already received electricity connec-tions, with plans to provide solar power to an additional 611 families living in the Tiger Reserve Forest area.

He visited the Chenchu tribal hamlets in the Yerra-gondapalem constituency of Prakasam district with the lo-cal leaders and informed the Chenchus that they would be given job cards soon for MGNREGS works. Speaking on the occasion, Gottipati emphasised that serving the under-privileged Chenchu community is equivalent to serving God.

He revealed plans to include the Chenchu community in the ‘work for food’ scheme to improve their living standards.

He mentioned that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has responded positively to these initiatives aimed at tribal welfare. The government aims to help the Chenchu com-munity members, who traditionally rely on hunting in for-est areas, to live with dignity on par with mainstream so-ciety.

The Minister said that he got to know that about 1,750 Chenchu families had been living without electricity in the Yerragondapalem constituency area. He said that the initi-ative to provide solar electricity to them is part of the NDA government’s commitment to uplift tribal and underprivi-leged communities.

He announced that they are able to provide solar electrici-ty to 956 Chenchu households, and are making efforts to provide solar power to another 611 families living in the tiger reserve forest.

He announced that the NDA government in the State would soon extend solar power facilities to agricultural lands owned by Chenchu farmers to enhance their farming capabilities. Giddalur MLA Ashok Reddy, Yerragondapalem TDP in-charge Erixion Babu, along with various leaders and offi-cials from different departments, participated in the pro-gramme.