PANAJI
A team of IIT-Delhi will be in Goa soon to explore generating hydro-electricity and solar power from pits of abandoned mines using "new technology", Power Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar has said.
Vast quantity of water in these mining pits will be recycled and used for hydropower generation, he said, adding that solar panels will also be installed across 50,000 square meter areas.
According to Dhavalikar, these proposals were approved at the 'Power Conference' and a team from IIT-Delhi has been designated to come to Goa and study its feasibility and implementation.
Dhavalikar made the statement at an event at Bethora in his Madkaim constituency where he laid the foundation stone for work related to underground cabling -- a Rs 4.75 crore project.
The project also includes converting the Torla and Nirnakal feeder overhead networks to a underground system which will cover Bethora, Nirankal, Shiroda and Panchawadi areas.
Meanwhile, speaking about the plans to cover the whole of Goa with underground cabling, Dhavalikar said, a team of experts will arrive in Goa within a month to inspect river-side villages.
"There are chances of getting sanction for 60 per cent of underground cabling in Goa,” Dhavalikar said.
WRD Minister Subash Shirodkar and top officials of the Electricity Department, besides the Sarpanch of Bethora Umesh Gaude, were present where Dhavalikar also indulged in some self-praise claiming that in six months he has managed to increase Power department’s revenue by 40 per cent.
He also said, underground cabling was an express requirement in forest, agriculture and touristically important areas.
