Guwahati: At the fall of dusk, Mayong wears a numb, deafening silence. Pin drop silence. Possibly, once in a while, you might hear an elephant's trumpet or a rhino's grunt. This happens only if you are out in the night during the flood season, for that is the time when these animals leave their forests and take shelter in the villages.
Traveling at night during the monsoon season has been persistently troublesome for the people of Mayong sub-district of Morigaon district. The whole of Mayong falls under Pobitora National Sanctuary, which means a lot of animals -- wild and tame -- dwell in the region. The dark streets, for the villagers, are nothing less than a scary nightmare. Its geographical location restricts it from enjoying an uninterrupted power supply.
Bringing an end to the community's woes, Earthful Foundation, an NGO based in Guwahati decided to install solar street lights in five villages of Mayong namely Kaanduli Pothaar, Haadugpaar, Omoramul, 2 No Murkata, and Hatigarh Kusiyani. Beginning the initiative, the NGO installed five solar street lamps in Hatigarh Kusiyani village. "We hope that the lights will benefit the community a lot because they live in a flood-prone area. Also, we are happy that we used solar as it's renewable energy," said a satisfied Kunal Sharma, the field coordinator of Earthful Foundation, after the installation of the first batch of lamps.
The Earthful Foundation was founded in 2018 by Shweta Mahanta. Lead by a team of five members and volunteers from different areas of Guwahati, their activities range from waste segregation to enhancing local handicrafts. The members of this particular NGO have actively been in the forefront of the recent flood relief programs in the state. Under their 'XOKAAH' flood relief program, they have also distributed emergency kits to flood-affected villages of Assam.
The solar street light installation is the first phase of their Village Adoption Programme which was kickstarted in 2019. The famous playback singer, Papon, who is also a part of the organization tweeted, "A little light in dark times. Hope this helps the villagers in these flood conditions."
A ray of hope has now arrived in the lives of the womenfolk of remote Hatigarh Kusiyani as they wait for their dear ones, their eyes scouting the dark lanes which shall not be so-very-dark anymore. All this, while a group of dogs bark at each other in another lane and an elephant trumpets away in a distant forest.
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