At a well attended public function held at Gaurishankar VDC, Sarlahi on Friday, May 25, 2007, Ambassador of India inaugurated the project for rural electrification of four VDCs namely Gaurishankar, Basantpur, Haripurwa and Sangrampur in District Sarlahi, completed with grant assistance of NRs.2,39,53,304/- from the Government of India. The project has been implemented by District Development Committee, Sarlahi in coordination with Nepal Electricity Authority, Malangwa branch.
Due to very low extent of rural electrification in the district, the farmers of Sarlahi district mostly depend on rain fed irrigation or on the expensive diesel powered water pumps for irrigating their crops. The new infrastructure created with the cooperation of Government of India would not only provide electricity to the people for lighting, but would also play a crucial role in agricultural and industrial development of these four VDCs. Consequently, this would improve the socio-economic condition of more than 64,000 people of over 10,000 households of the area.
This is one of the seven projects, including six educational ones, undertaken by Government of India in district Sarlahi. In addition, seven ambulances have been gifted by Government of India to various organizations in that district.
In his address at the function, Ambassador of India underlined the importance of development of basic infrastructure like electricity, particularly in rural areas, in Nepal's overall progress. He noted that as a country dependent on agriculture, rural development was a basic requirement for Nepal’s modernization and expressed hope that electrification of 4 VDCs in district Sarlahi will contribute significantly to the development of these villages. He also mentioned that the various cooperation initiatives being undertaken under the India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme manifested the determination of the Government and the people of India to support the people of Nepal in realizing their objective of peace and development.
Currently, under the ongoing bilateral economic cooperation programme between India and Nepal, more than 200 projects are being realized in the sectors of education, health, community development and infrastructure covering almost all the districts of Nepal with an outlay of over NRs.2000 crores.
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