With millions of pilgrims expected to throng various ghats of Krishna river in Krishna and Guntur Districts during Krishna Pushkarams, the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh is making all efforts to put in place the best of facilities for the pilgrims to take holy dip in the sacred waters on a 24X7 basis during the Pushkarams from August 12 to 23.
Proper illumination at the Ghats and connecting streets is a prerequisite for the same. “Do whatever is required in the interests of the public. Put in place all facilities so that not even a small inconvenience is caused to the visiting public and the residents of the habitations falling on the banks of river Krishna in Guntur and Krishna Districts, particularly in Vijayawada and other CRDA Villages. The entire. administration and machinery should work in coordination with all the key departments during the Pushkarams to make it a grand success”, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu instructed all concerned.
Disclosing these details after an interaction with the Chief Minister, chief secretary S.P. Tucker stated that the role of power utilities in maintaining uninterrupted 24X7 power supply with continuous follow up and monitoring is essential for smooth conduct of this prestigious event.
The chief secretary has held a teleconference with Ajay Jain, Principal Secretary, Energy I&I, GoAP and Vice Chairman/APSECM and the top brass of power sector officials, including Vijayanand, Chairman & Managing Director, APTRANSCO and MD/APGenco, K.Ranganatham Advisor Energy, Dinesh Paruchuri Joint Managing Director, APTRANSCO and CMDs of APDISCOMs H.Y. Dora and M.M. Naik and instructed them to initiate stringent steps to maintain 24×7 power supply with highest quality and reliability, to avoid any inconvenience to the general public. The Chief Secretary has suggested the Energy and MA&UD departments to conduct a pole to pole survey for ensuring better illumination.
Ajay Jain informed the CS about the preparedness of the power utilities to face any kind of emergency situation with regard to 24X7 illumination at the ghats and maintaining uninterrupted power supply. The works taken up by the DISCOMs are almost completed. APSPDCL is spending about Rs.85 crore for power supply and distribution infrastructure at 159 ghats. Sri. Ajay Jain who is also the Vice-Chairman of APSECM has sought the permission of Chief Secretary and Chairman of APSECM to conduct the 5th Executive Committee meeting of APSECM during first week of August.
The EESL, Govt. of India which is the implementing agency for LED Street Lighting project in 110 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) has assured the State Govt. to complete the retrofitting works in all aspects including Centralised Control & Monitoring System (CCMS) in the entire State by 30th September 2016 and keeping in view the forthcoming Pushkarams, in Vijayawada & Guntur Municipal Corporations by August 5. A joint inspection during late evening hours is proposed on August 3 in Vijayawada and Guntur Municipal Corporations to examine the efficacy of LED Street Lights, informed Ajay Jain. (NSS)