MARCOS GONSALVES
marcos@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Entire Salcete, besides several other places of South Goa, has been badly hit by power outage in wake of cyclone Tauktae except Fatorda and Margao—the only two constituencies that suffered minimum power failure amid the cyclonic havoc. Thanks to the underground power cabling!
Vijai Sardesai, MLA of Fatorda constituency and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, besides former Fatorda BJP MLA Damodar alias Damu Naik said that the vision of underground power cabling has proven as a major relief for citizens in the wake of cyclone Tauktae Executive Engineer Carlos Fernandes of electricity department advocates the claim, adding underground power cabling saved the people of Margao and Fatorda from sleepless nights due to power failure, compared to other parts of the Salcete taluka.
Damu Naik has claimed that it was a vision of late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, because of whom people of Margao and Fatorda got uninterrupted power supply even at time of havoc by a cyclone.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, in the Margao constituency first phase of underground power cabling, was initiated in 2004, and a tender worth Rs. 32.79 crores were issued for work in Margao Municipal Council jurisdiction and it was carried out under the feeder wise.
Thereafter, in 2010, the work of the second phase begun, and the project worth Rs. 67.50 crores initiated. All works of underground power cabling were completed in the year 2012.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat said besides underground power cabling in Margao, sub-stations were increased from two to four and which has a switch over the system.
“When I took over the Power Department I had experienced the frequent power cuts. And hence I was working on how to overcome the problem. Thereafter, a proposal for underground power cabling was moved. Besides mobile transformers were introduced which were helpful to restore the power immediately”, he said.
He said Margao has benefited a lot because of underground power cabling and as a result despite havoc due to cyclone Tauktae, minimum interruption to the power outage reported in Margao.
Digambar further said that now the government needs to focus on basic infrastructure such as underground power cabling rather than focusing on monuments.
Sardesai said trees don’t fall on underground cables.
“In Fatorda today, we have 100 percent underground cabling. Not because we foresaw Tauktae, but we dared to imagine a future-ready Fatorda and worked towards creating infrastructure equipped for any eventuality. Fatorda is always forward”, he stated.
He said that in this term, he completed the work of the fifth feeder thus completing the underground cabling for the entire constituency by which power outages and load fluctuations have become thing of the past.
“However, transformer blasts as seen in Xeldem recently will have to be tackled by the Power Department with necessary precautionary measures involving capital expenditure, which I am going to address to the Power Minister shortly in the letter”, he informed herald.
Maximum work of underground power cabling in Fatorda was completed between 2004 to 2012. Left out areas were completed recently, informed sources.
It has been witnessed for the last few days, there was an incident reported of power interruptions in Fatorda but for minimum times, as no incident was reported of power outages because of the tree falls.
Besides, Fatorda and Margao few places in Salcete, Benaulim have also witnessed the underground power cabling project.
As informed by the former MLA of Benaulim Constituency Caitan Silva, under whose tenure the underground cabling project was initiated, a project of 99 crores has been completed in Benaulim.
“At the the moment the underground power cabling has benefited a lot in Benaulim”, he said.
