Underground cabling brings power relief to Marlim-Tirval

Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar inaugurates the newly laid underground cabling and two Distribution Transformer Centres at Marlim-Tirval, in the presence of Poinguinim Sarpanch Savita Tawadkar, Panch Rasika, Electricity AE Govind Bhat and others.

CANACONA

In a major achievement, the Electricity Department has completed the laying of 12 km of underground electricity cables through the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary to the residential area of Marlim-Tirval in the Poinguinim Village Panchayat of Canacona taluka.  

The project, costing Rs 5.39 crore, involved laying 11KV, 120 sq mm XLPE underground cables over a 12-km stretch and upgrading one Distribution Transformer Centre (DTC) each at Marlim and Tirval.  

Although permissions were obtained from the Central Ministry of Forests and Environment in 2014, the actual work began about one and a half years ago. The power supply was energised and officially inaugurated on Saturday in the presence of Speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar, Poinguinim Sarpanch Savita Tawadkar, Panch Rasika Gaonkar, and local residents.  

Also present were Canacona Assistant Engineer Govind Bhat, Junior Engineers Akshay Gaonkar, Anand Komarpant and Fsattanand Chari, along with Budvont Ram and other village elders.  

Previously, overhead power lines in the area would often break down, especially during the monsoon, due to falling trees. This led to frequent and long power outages. The switch to an underground High Tension (HT) cable network from Amona Junction to Marlim via Tirval has brought much-needed relief to both residents and the Electricity Department staff. The underground system is expected to end low voltage issues and frequent power cuts, providing a more stable and reliable electricity supply to Marlim-Tirval.  

It may be recalled that in 2019, residents of Marlim-Tirval had boycotted the Lok Sabha elections, saying the authorities were ignoring their demands for better roads, proper water supply, and electricity.