Rajkot: Hundreds of villages in Saurashtra reeled under darkness due to severe damage caused to the power infrastructure by cyclone Tauktae. But taking a leaf out of government’s ‘atma nirbhar mantra’ one village in Bhavnagar got electricity two days before other village’s got the power back. The villagers of Valar showed remarkable self-reliance as they pooled in money to clear the roads of uprooted trees, re-erect and install new poles and lay the power line. Later, they approached the Paschim Gujarat Vij Ltd (PGVCL) authorities for restoration of power to the village. The village in Talaja taluka was also severely damaged by the cyclone as many electricity poles were either uprooted or completely damaged. The access to the village too was cut-off as several uprooted trees had blocked the roads connecting it to neighbouring villages. Instead of waiting for the district authorities and staffers of PGVCL, youths from the village decided to take things in their hands. The group collected funds from every house of Valar village, which has a population of around 1,500. The group rented JCB machines to move the trees blocking the connecting roads. “Some 40 to 50 big trees were uprooted by the cyclone which we moved using the JCB machines. Clearing the roads helped the villagers to travel to neighbouring villages and to other parts of the district,” said Padubha Sarvaiya, a villager. The villagers then re-erected 11 electricity poles that had fallen and installed seven new poles that were completely damaged. “There is a 66 KV sub-station at Datha village which had electricity but as the lines were damaged, there was darkness. After erecting the poles, we laid the power lines on our own and requested the authorities to supply power to us,” said Sarvaiya. Valar village received electricity on the evening of May 20 while the remaining villages in the taluka could get power only on Saturday. “There was no point in waiting for the authorities to arrive and then start the work. We had resources and knowledge so we decided to get things done on our own,” said Divyarajsinh Sarvaiya, another villager.