Chapter 22

• With the arrival of nightfall, the entire Dame Bather Village was immediately plunged into darkness.
• The villagers had dug a very deep water reservoir at the top of the mountain, and built a hydro-powered generator, which was a few square meters in area, for self-sufficiency. However, with the amount of electricity generated, they could just barely support the entire village’s electric lights. Even if you had a 100-watt bulb, the village chief would not allow you to use it. Later on when they got energy-saving lights, the electricity supply became more bearable. Despite that, it was still not enough to meet their demands. Every few days or so, there would be no electricity.
• Why did the county not provide them with power? They were a poor village surrounded by mountains. The utility poles would need to be built across several mountains. Since the costs were exorbitant, no one bothered about this. Connecting them to a power supply was already a problem in itself, never mind things like internet connectivity, cellphone signals and satellite television. Even if you wanted modern luxuries, there was nothing in this village, there was only poverty and backwardness. However, the land here was rich in resources. You could start a vegetable plot and a paddy field, and you would not need to worry about going hungry. You just had no money to spend on things.