Team Herald
MARGAO: The Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar has decided to provide 50 electric poles to each constituencies of South Goa before the monsoons and also to recruit 50 junior engineers. This was announced during the review meeting held with all South Goa MLAs and concerned engineers as a part of monsoon preparedness.
Power Minister Madkaikar, TCP Minister Vijai Sardessai, MLA Churchill Alemao, Digamber Kamat, Nilesh Cabral, Deepak Pauskar and other South Goa MLAs were present at the meeting. The power minister said, “The meeting has been called to review the pre-monsoon and other electricity department works which are needed to be executed on a priority basis. We have decided to sideline and forget political differences and affiliations and decided to give water and electricity to all the people on priority basis.”
He also said Chief Minister Parrikar has advised him and the allied departments that no one should face problems of light and water and the redressal system has to be a top priority.
The minister has assured to provide the necessary equipments like conductors, poles, fault tracking machines, fork lift, cranes and others to the required divisions soon. The Minister has also committed to recruit additional 50 junior engineers and also revive the old contracts of the contractual helpers and workers needed by the substations across Goa.
The Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao raised the issue of fixtures absent on Mobor road and in Colva and also supply of new fixtures to the Colva substation. Churchill also demanded that there have to be High mast lights in coastal areas. He also expressed the need of pole.
The Cuncolim MLA Clafacio Dias, meanwhile, demanded that they be given a Balli substation which he said is urgently needed.
Quepem MLA Babu Kavlekar raised the issue of lack of staff at his sub-stations and also expressed the need for Khola and Shirvoi transformers.
The Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar told that he needs 6 transformers in total of which 2 for Quepem and 4 for Sanguem interior areas. Since Sanguem is the biggest in terms of areas the MLA told that there is acute shortage of staff in the mountain top villages and there are no line men, helpers and others for the villages of Netravali, Vaddem and other areas.
The overall demand of the entire South Goa was for Staff at Substations and Technical, Transformers, Substations to be added poles and fixtures and other miscellaneous demands.
The issue of sub-stations not entertaining complains of the people of villages and towns too was common amongst all the MLA’s. Complaints of landline phones purposefully kept engaged have reached the MLAs. The Minister sending a clear signal to the engineers concerned said that they will have to takes strict action if the phone calls at sub stations were not received on time. “It is a warning for all sub-stations to attend and solve the issues of the people on time,” said Minister Madkaikar. Minister also grilled the AE’s for not picking calls and attending the power failure complaints.
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Heftier power bills
Power bills for the next 3 months will be comparatively higher. The Electricity Department is set to start the recovery the FPPCA (Fuel & Power Purchase Cost Adjustment) charges of Rs 92 crores in the next 3 months from all the consumers. The Power Minister has informed that there will be a certain paise addition to the unit cost for domestic and commercial respectively in the bill of next 3 months for all the consumers by means of which the Electricity Department plans to recover Rs 92 crore they already paid against the FPPCA charges. Clarifying that there is no plan to raise the tariffs the Minister told that they will fulfill the promise they made and not raise the tariff.
