By IANS,
Kallooppara (Kerala) : Kallooppara assembly constituency in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala Monday became the fourth of the state’s 140 constituencies to be fully electrified.
Electricity Minister A.K. Balan formally declared Kallooppara as fully electrified at a function here in Mallapally, where local legislator Joseph M. Puthusserry was also present.
The last time the constituency was in the news was when Puthusserry took up an ambitious project to make it computer literate by providing computers to all the 106 government aided schools in his constituency.
“I am really delighted that I have been able to complete the project of electrification for all in my constituency. New power lines stretching 106 km were put up, 3,056 electric posts were erected and 2,248 new power connections given in a period of 26 months to complete this project,” Puthusserry told IANS.
Irinjalakuda, Mankada and Alappuzha are the other constituencies in the state that have achieved total electrification.
When asked from where the money came for the two ambitious projects, Puthusserry said that he had used his legislator’s development fund productively.
“For the computer project, I spent Rs. five million and the electrification project cost Rs.4.6 million. The highlight of these two projects is that the major beneficiaries have been people from the lower strata of the society,” he added.
For all the work he has done for the past twelve and a half years as legislator, Puthusserry’s constituency will no longer exist after the delimitation exercise. But he is unfazed and has already drawn up his next project.
“I have already written to all the local bodies representatives to provide me with a list of all those who do not have homes. In the next 30 months when my present term ends, all in my constituency will have a roof over their heads,” he said.