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Just 10 kilometres from Mumbai, islanders on the UNESCO world heritage listed Elephanta have spent much of their lives without electricity. The island, renowned for its temple caves dating back more than 1,500 years is home to around 1,200 people. A Maharashtra state government electrification project for the island saw engineers spend three months laying a seven-kilometre undersea cable connecting a mainland substation to transformers in each Elephanta village and residents now have mains electricity in their homes for the first time.