Team Goemkarponn
CANACONA: A remote village within the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, is set to receive electricity for the first time, with the commencement of an 11KV underground electricity cable laying project. The foundation ceremony was held at the foot of the Keri plateau in Khotigao village and was inaugurated by Speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar, along with Khotigao village budhvont Anand, village sarpanch Vrunda Velip, and officials from the Forest and Electricity Departments.
The project, estimated to cost over six crores, involves laying a 3.5 km long underground LT line to a transformer to be installed at the top of the plateau, where the residential area is located. Canacona Assistant Engineer Govind Bhat described the project as one of the most challenging in the taluka, particularly due to the hilly terrain and the fact that it falls within the protected wildlife sanctuary.
“Extending electricity to Keri with underground cabling in such a difficult, non-accessible area within the sanctuary is a significant task. It requires extra efforts, including addressing wildlife concerns and overcoming physical hurdles such as streams and culverts along the way,” Bhat said at the inaugural ceremony. He also assured that the work would be completed within a month, although the timeline could extend if the monsoon season delays progress.
Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, addressing the gathering, stated that Khotigao village had seen significant progress in recent infrastructure projects. “We have already completed the road at Avali, installed a mobile tower in Khotigao, and today we begin the work of laying underground cabling to Keri. The construction of the road to Nadkem will commence after the monsoons,” Tawadkar announced.
Despite the challenges, including obtaining sensitive permissions from the Forest Department to ensure that the underground cabling does not disturb the flora and fauna of the sanctuary, Tawadkar assured that the project would be completed successfully.
A Keri-Nadkem bridge, Tawadkar assured, would also be constructed in the future, further improving accessibility for residents.
The ceremony was attended by various dignitaries, including Khotigao Village Sarpanch Vrunda Velip, Dy. Sarpanch Poonam Gaonkar, Poinguinim Sarpanch Savita Tawadkar, former Sarpanch Anandu Desai, and several panchayat members from Khotigao, along with officials from the Forest and Electricity Departments.
