Dixya Poudel

A while ago Minister for Energy Barsaman Pun announced that every household in Nepal will have access to electricity within three years. Electricity is a must for a comfortable home. It is required to cook, clean, wash and maintain household requirements. Most activities such as watching television, charging electronic gadgets and connecting to the internet require electricity.
Today, the cities and towns of Nepal are connected with electricity that makes the lives of residents easier. Positively, there are fewer interruptions in the power supply nowadays. However, the villages in rural areas of Nepal do not have access to electricity. Thus, the fact that the Government of Nepal is working to provide electricity to every household should be taken as positive news. Further, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the entire nation could be illuminated throughout the year?
I remember the winter days when the country used to be shrouded in darkness due to load-shedding. We used to strictly adhere to the power outage routines. Also, we had to stock up emergency lights and torch lights. Then there was a surge in the sales of inverters, solar lights and generators which lighted up our houses during blackouts. Whenever the electricity was available we hurried up to charge our phones, laptops and other electronic gadgets. We switched to cooking rice on gas stoves instead of electronic rice cookers. We could rarely watch our favourite shows on television. Instead, we listened to news on radio that ran with batteries. Frankly, we dreaded the extended load-shedding on winter days.
However, it all changed in 2017 when the government announced that there would be much reduction on power cuts. Now, even in winter we have access electricity except for a few glitches. There are a few interruptions but they are rare.
Life on earth is powered by sunlight. Thus we depend on the sun and when the day ends and night sets in, we require artificial lights to facilitate our lives. Light is necessary for sight and thus hugely essential. In Hindu tradition, before any sort of religious worships we light diyos and first worship the light. And every year in Tihar, we light up houses in reverence to Goddess Laxmi. A well-lit house facilitates the welcome of Goddess Laxmi who in turn will grace our house with good luck and prosperity.
Wikipedia defines electricity as, "the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge." Electricity is first said to be discovered by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 when he proved that the lightning had electric sparks. Then in the early nineteenth century, the world took great strides on the understandings of the science of electricity. Michael Faraday is credited for creating the electric motor which generated electricity for practical purposes. Further, Thomas Edison invented the filament light bulbs which were incandescent.
Now electricity is an essential factor for the sustenance of human life on earth. The fact that there is no more load-shedding in Nepal is a testament to the nation's progressive stance. And next time we switch on the lights, let us be grateful for this energy sufficiency.