MARGAO
Former Power Minister Digambar Kamat has said the Congress will not let the government go scot-free on the power tariff issue, as he apprehended that the common man will receive hefty power bills from this month.
Asserting that Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar’s promise that the new tariff will not be applicable for consumers with less than 200 units has no meaning, Kamat said the Power Minister’s announcement will only benefit only a small group of consumers. “I am of the strong opinion that the government should have spared all consumers of 500 units. Today, even a common man has many electrical gadgets and consumer durables. The proposed relief to consumers with 200 units has no meaning at all,” Kamat said, adding that power consumers will feel the heat of the government’s decision once they receive the power bills with a new tariff.
The former Power Minister also said that the government should immediately make provision for an underground cable fault finding machine, basic kits as well as provide trained manpower to handle underground cabling. “While Margao and Fatorda are almost covered by underground cabling, there’s no cable fault finding machine. Manpower needs to be trained to detect faults of the underground cables,” Kamat said, adding that he has briefed Power Minister on the requirement of the department.
Kamat on Saturday launched work on the conversion of 11KV and LT overhead lines to underground network in the left out parts of Margao Municipal Council areas under the jurisdiction of Margao and bifurcation of the existing feeders for enhancing the reliability of power supply.
The work will cover the areas of Aquem Baixo, Rawanfond and parts of Colmorod, which is expected to benefit around 250 households. “The project includes conversion of overhead network in Aquem Baixo to underground network and bifurcation of the Khareband feeder and Lohia feeder. “Five new transformers with 200 KVA capacity will be erected in the city to take care of the power requirements,” Kamat said.
