No electricity since the 1970s

Power shock greets Miss Universe finalist as she returns to Bihar village

Beauty queens are known for making politically correct speeches, off and on the ramp. But a Bihar girl who represented the country at the recent Miss Universe 2012 pageant in Las Vegas, could not hold back from calling a spade a spade when she saw no lights and good roads in her village during the visit to her home state.

Shilpa Singh, a software engineer- turned-model who made it to the top 16 at the Miss Universe contest before being eliminated in December 2012, said she saw no trace of electricity in her village during her three-day stay there.

"My village has been deprived of electricity all these years," she said in Patna on her return from her ancestral Vishnupur Diha village under Singhia block of Samastipur district.

When Shilpa reached her village last week, she was surprised to find out from the villagers that electricity has eluded the place since 1970s when the floods washed away the power lines.

Since then, electricity connection has not been restored. This came as a big disappointment for the pretty lass who was in the village to thank the people for their support.

The 23-year-old Mumbai-based beauty queen, who was accompanied by her parents on the trip, said she had last visited her village about eight years ago but she did not find much difference in he situation.


"Electricity is not the only problem," she said.


"The roads were also in bad condition."

Shilpa said Bihar had progressed a lot in the last few years but the signs of development were more perceptible around Patna than the villages like hers in the state's backwaters.

Shilpa said she would apprise chief minister Nitish Kumar about the situation if she got an opportunity to meet him.

The beauty also said she was weighing the option of joining the film industry.

"I have received a few film offers from Bollywood," she said.

"I am at present reading the scripts."
dailymail