Several Odisha villages still without electricity in 2025, students face uncertain future

Across Odisha’s rural heartland, there are villages where the promise of development has simply not arrived. Even in 2025, families in Shagkiari of Ganjam and Bajarapada of Bargarh still live without electricity, spending their nights in darkness, their children studying by fading candlelight, and their futures dimmed by decades of neglect. 

While one village in Ganjam receives power only after OTV impact, many others continue to wait, caught between hope and hardship. These are the voices of those who remain off the grid, long after the rest of the state has moved ahead.

Just a Few Kilometres Away, Darkness Continues

However, a short distance from Subarnapur lies Sagakiari, an Adivasi village under Dharakote block. Over 20 families live here without electricity, year after year. Although roads have reached the village, electric poles and wiring have not. Residents spend their nights in darkness, with no televisions or mobile phones.

“Even in 2025, we are living like people did 50 years ago,” says Samil Sabar, a villager who fears leaving his ancestral home despite the hardship.

Also Read: Electricity after 28 years! Admin scurries into action after Odisha CM's intervention

Western Odisha Faces the Same Reality

The situation is no different in western Odisha. In Bajarapada village under Lahunipada in Bargarh district, villagers have lived without electricity for nearly two decades. Nights remain completely dark unless someone brings back a charged mobile or battery from a neighbouring village. Repeated complaints to district authorities have yielded no results.

"We are unable to complete our homework. We light candles, but they burn out by 10 PM and hardly help. In the evenings, we often have no option but to go to sleep without finishing our work.” said Hani Gamanga, Student.

Conclusion

While Subarnapur finally received electricity after high-level intervention, many other villages still wait. Residents of these dark pockets hope that one day development will reach them too and they will finally join the mainstream of progress.