Nearly 1,200 residents of the Elephanta island, famous for its Hindu cave sculptures and located around 10 km off Mumbai coast, will have electricity from the Independence Day this year. Elephanta, a popular tourist destination, despite its proximity to the country's financial capital and housing caves which were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, is still without electricity. <br/><br/>Maharashtra Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that the state government will lay an underwater power cable network between mainland Mumbai and the island at a cost of 28 crore rupees for electrification. This will be done with technical assistance from US and UK-based companies. The government has also decided to provide electricity supply to the Ajanta-Ellora caves. Meanwhile, the problem of drinking water was solved recently with the construction of a small dam.