November 10, 1897 was an epoch-making day in the power sector in India.On this day, the first hydel power station in India, and reportedly in Asia too, was commissioned at Sidrapong near Darjeeling town, the first power utility run on commercial basis for use of general public, heralding the electrical-energy-era in the Indian sub-continent, and ushering in a revolutionary change in the socio-cultural and economic life of Indian society.Darjeeling got the hydroelectricity from this Sidrapong Hydel Power Station, such being the first town in India supplied with hydropower. Quite appropriately, the Govt. of India declared Sidrapong Hydel Power Station as a ‘HERITAGE POWER STATION’ of India on the eve of its centenary.