Cuchim Tayai, a villager in Keyu Village in Linzhou County in
Lhasa, had used butter lamps like generations of his ancestors.
Only after the second-phase of electricity grid construction in
Tibet did he come to know electricity for the first time.
"My daughter now can do her homework without suffering from lamp
smoke. We have TV sets, VCDs and electric appliances to make
buttered tea," Cuchim Tayai said.
Cuchim Tayai is among tens of thousands of farmers and herdsmen
benefiting from the ongoing electricity grid construction in
southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region
The central government has set aside 2.53 billion yuan (US$316
million) for the rural electricity grid construction and renovation
project, said Qamba Xerab, deputy director of the traffic and
energy department under the Tibet Autonomous Regional Development
and Reform Committee.
With the second phase of the project completed, approximately
1.6 million Tibetans are using electricity, doubling the figure
before the project, he said.
About 60 percent of the Tibetans now have access to electricity,
half living in rural areas, and about 1 million Tibetans have no
access to electricity, he said.
The third phase of the project has been launched, involving 1
billion yuan (US$125 million), with an aim to extend power to about
270,000 people in 1,072 villages in 34 counties, said Wang Qinghua,
director of Tibet Autonomous Regional Power Bureau.
"Without electric power, villagers started businesses and earned
more income. For example, without electricity, most ducklings would
die due to lack of warmth. Nowadays, with the help of electricity,
80 percent of the ducklings survive," Cuchim Tayai said.
"Electricity makes life much better. We could never expect such
colorful life years ago," Cuchim Tayai said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2005)