Residents of Chin State capital Hakha can now enjoy 24-hour electricity since the town was connected to the national grid at the beginning of July.
Speaking to DVB on Tuesday, an official at Hakha’s Electricity Office said, “Most of Hakha has been connected now for about two weeks. Other areas are waiting for power lines to be installed.”
He added that the government has also announced its intention to extend the national grid to the town of Falam in the coming months.
Chin State is arguably the most remote and underdeveloped region in Burma. Almost the entire population survive either without electricity or have alternate sources of energy such as private generators. Until now, Hakha and Falam were allocated an electricity supply of just a few hours every three or four days from the Laiva Hydropower Dam near Falam.
An officer at Hakha Fire Department said that having a non-stop supply of electricity would make their work much more convenient.
Salai Ceu Bik Thawng, secretary of the Chin National Democratic Party, said he welcomes the development and urges the government to connect other towns in the state to the national grid.
“We would urge the government to prioritise the three district capitals [Hakha, Falam and Mindat], and then connect the grid further to the nine townships across the state.”
He said majority of the budget for installing the necessary infrastructure to connect Hakha with the grid was raised by local residents.
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