After a decade-long endeavour, Thori, a remote village in Parsa district, has finally been electrified.

Energy Minister Janardan Sharma inaugurated the newly-built facility amid huge fanfare here on Friday.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has powered 380 households in the first phase. Thori has a total of 1,400 households.

Residents danced in joy and partied celebrating the electrification of their village. “We had to wait for 10 years for the electricity to come. This is a huge shot in the arm for Thori’s development efforts,” said Bhabnath Phuyal of Thori - 3.

Stating that it was unfortunate the village had to wait for a decade just to be able to light up their homes, Sharma highlighted his ministry’s initiatives to eliminate loadshedding from across the country.

“Although we have seen some tangible results, I am not yet satisfied,” he said. “If we succeed in making proper utilisation of resources, it won’t take long for the country to embark on development journey.”

Minister Sharma claimed the country could save at least Rs20-25 billion each year if loadshedding is completely eradicated.

Stating that Thori was one of the most important border regions of the country, Sharma said he would make efforts to link Thori with Nepal-China border point of Keyrung.

NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghishing said the authority was committed to making the country loadshedding free.

State Minister for Energy Shatya Narayan Bhagat Bin said the government was exploring possibilities of generating electricity from local Thute River. He said the power generated from the river would be enough to electrify the entire Thori village.

“The darkness has ended and the gateway for Thori’s development has been opened,” Ram Prakash Kunwar, coordinator of an all-party political mechanism, said, adding the landscape of the remote village in Parsa was bound to change in the near future.