Kashyap Colony

The village received national attention in Fall 2015, when it was added to the electric grid after 63 years of existing without power.

[1] Named Reda Basti, in the early years, the only structures were "kuchcha" houses and straw huts.

[2] With more permanent structures came attention from the Meerut Nagar Nigam, or Municipal Corporation, who deemed the settlement illegal and took the villagers to court.

Schoolchildren were unable to study after dark, and a school was never able to be built, causing high dropout rates.

On 5 July 2015, an article by The Times of India reported that a local NGO working with the village and municipal government to solve the issue.

Last month, there was a meeting between Meerut MP Rajendra Agarwal, DM Pankaj Yadav and PVVNL officials.

Kashyap Colony will be made a part of the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), which is for urban areas.

On Monday, electric poles were finally erected in the area, bringing the hope to the villagers that they won't have to celebrate Diwali in the dark this year."[5]V.

V. Panth, managing director of Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), the engineering company in charge of the project, said:"The work was initially thrown off schedule for a while, but now we are back on track.

[6] Following Kashyap Colony's addition to the electrical grid, residents began calling for construction of a primary school in the village.

Shortly after the installation of electricity in the village, residents began calling for the construction of a primary school.

Mohit Kumar, a resident of Kashyap Colony, was quoted in a Times of India article addressing the issue, saying:"There seems to be a consensus in the village that we should demand a school after we get power lines running here.

"[3]Pankaj Sharma of Meerut Nagrik Adhikar Manch (MNAM), a Meerut-based NGO, spoke of the ongoing effort to petition the local government:"It is good to see that the wires are being laid out in the village for the first time ever.