Goemkarponn desk
Panaji: With flawless power supply and lighting up the areas where the G20 meetings are scheduled to take place, including locations for excursions as a requiremen, the Electricity Department of Goa has managed to light up Goa.
Sanjit Rodrigues, Secretary Protocol & Nodal Officer – G20, Goa stated “Uninterrupted power supply as a requisite for G20 meetings has benefitted Goa through installation of new smart power saving fixtures and fixing issues with power supply. A well illuminated Panjim makes a big difference”.
With most worries complete and final touches currently being worked on permanent works are being carried out in view of the eight scheduled G20 meetings. “The quality of power has to be without a single interruption and this was not possible to achieve without plugging the bottle necks and other infrastructure relates issues that affect power supply,” informs Arun Patil, Executive Engineer, Electricity Department Government of Goa and OSD (Power).
With a budget allocation of 45 Crore Rupees for all power related works, the main hurdle was to restore power supply to areas of Bambolim, Dona Paula and surrounding areas where the meetings would be taking place.
“The above areas get supply from the feeder at Kadamba Plateau, and during the road widening works, three vital power cables were pushed beneath the upper surface of the road and were embedded under the concrete. So, rectifying this power feed was not viable. So the task was huge, both in terms of cost and manpower to shift these cables,” explains Patil.
The Electricity Department personnel have been working since December in view of the G20 meetings. Another important work carried out is shifting of the electricity load from the sub-station near NIO Colony, Dona Paula. Here, due to the presence of the sub-station, the road narrowed and didn’t have a pavement for pedestrians to walk on.
Now, as the load is shifted to a nearby sub station, it brings major relief as it will facilitate road widening, and infrastructure works of building a pavement and road divider.
Panjim looks brighter, and thanks to the Electricity Department that took up lighting up of roads as a thoughtful task to benefit Goa and Goans even after G20. D.B. Road (From Miramar to the Santa Monica Jetty) was lit up with lamp posts as Goa hosted the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for the first time in 2004.
The stretch which has ornamental fixtures of HPSV Lamps manufactured by Kesselec Schreder stopped production in 2012. Thus, considering the need to use modern and energy saving lights, a decision to use LED lamp posts was taken. Now, a longer stretch from Miramar upto KTC Bus Stand has been lit up uniformly, and from with Merces Circle to Old Goa Circle with over 1400 LED lamp posts.
The outdated HPSV fixtures that consumed 150 watts has now been replaced with power saving LED 110 watts fixtures. The new fixtures have smart features and can be controlled remotely for flexibility and convenience in terms of lighting control.
Through the Smart City Mission, power, water supply and CCTV cameras will be managed from a Central Command Centre in Altinho. “From a single location we will understand which fixtures are not working. Besides, the lights can be dimmed and made brighter making power supply efficient,” informed Patil.
After replacement by way of energy efficient fixtures, the saving is of around Rs 3,00,000 per month. With G20, most pending works, of which 70% – 80% are of those pertaining to other departments have been taken up by the Electricity Department. “With G20 Meetings, works that needed attention are finally in place. It also means that Goa will have developed infrastructure and better power supply permanently.” Works undertaken are of other agencies that had left them incomplete.
Several other areas like Fontainhas, Mala, near Goa Marriott Resort have been lit up in view of the excursions and hospitality arrangements for the G20 meetings. The damaged poles have been replaced with new fixtures.
The dark spot between the High Court and the Secretariat below Atal Setu has been properly lit. “We’ve also lit up blind spots and accident prone areas like in Chimbel, Patto through the G20 initiative.” informs Patil. He adds, with better quality of supply and proper road illumination the citizens of Goa can have a sigh of relief.
The role of the Electricity Department of Goa through the G20 initiative has been applauded by citizens at large. It now sets the tone for developing world class infrastructure in the future, while minimising inefficiency in power related works. As part of the eight G20 meetings to be held in Goa starting this April, two ministerial and six other meetings will be held in the state spread across the next four months. The first meeting in Goa is scheduled to be held from April 17-19 at Grand Hyatt, Bambolim and will have in attendance international health officials and delegates for the 2nd Health Working Group Meeting.
The Group of Twenty or G20, is the premier forum for international cooperation comprising of the world’s most-powerful 19 economies and the EU. The G20 group was established with the goal to solve major global issues which are related to the stability of International Finance, the international economy, migration due to changes in climatic conditions, and sustainable development. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Republic of South Africa, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America, and the European Union (EU) form the G20 group. Representatives from guest countries and international organisations have also been invited to attend the Summit.
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