Near Adani’s Jharkhand power plant, villages still struggle for basic health, education

An Adani power project that exports electricity to Bangladesh has faced heat from the new regime in Dhaka over the price of power. While the standoff between the company and Dhaka has made news, a recent protest in Godda, Jharkhand, where the company has built its thermal plant has largely gone unnoticed. Scroll travelled to Godda to report this two-part series.

The chimneys of Adani Power’s thermal plant in Godda loom large over Gangta, a village of around 50 families, most of whom are Adivasi farmers.

In recent years, their attempts to grow more crops has led to steady groundwater depletion – a common problem in rural India. “Earlier we used to dip buckets into the well to take out water, but in the last five years the water started drying up and now we have to dig borewells to get water,” said Robin Hembrom, a resident.

Besides, as he pointed out, in order to access water from borewells, they need to run motor pumps that pull water to the surface, but electrical supply in the village is irregular – despite its proximity to the Adani-owned power plant.

“Often, only two houses receive proper electricity, the rest get such little voltage that even bulbs don’t light up properly,” said...

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