<p>For the country and state’s electricity future, the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project will be beneficial and it will have a minimal adverse impact on the environment, claimed KPCL Executive Engineer Umapathi.</p><p>He was speaking at a meeting convened to review the progress of the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project work held at the Public Works Department’s office near here on Friday.</p><p>KPCL EE Umapathi further claimed that when compared to the hydro-electric projects implemented in various parts of the state in the past, the possible damage to the environment by the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project is at a very minimal level.</p><p>The Pumped Storage Project has been formulated with the intention of supplying the electricity required for the development of the country at the lowest price by using the national assets available in the Sharavati Valley, such as dams and rainwater available as nature’s gift.</p><p>The existing dams will be used as they are and no changes will be made in this regard, he categorically stated.</p><p>Defending the project, the executive engineer said, the 0.5 TMC of water used daily from Linganamakki dam will continue to be used as usual, flowing through the valley and used by the public and farmers in various ways including electricity generation, agriculture, drinking, and fishing purpose. There will be no change in the flow and use of water, he claimed. The loss of human habitats during the implementation phase of this project is very minimal, and discussions have already been held with the families who will lose their land. Their complaints have also been accepted, he informed.</p><p>He said, the KPC has worked hard to collect rainwater in several stages before it flows on both sides of the Sharavati river valley, which originates in Ambuthirtha in Thirthahalli taluk, and converts it into electricity for the country. Already in the Sharavati Valley Project area, the Malali Tunnel, Vadanbailu Tunnel, Linganamakki Bidarur Tunnel, Varahi Geothermal Power Plant and the Ambuthirtha Project Tunnels, which were constructed about 50 years ago, are functioning very well. There has been no collapse or other adverse effects on the surface of the land here so far.</p><p>Referring to these tunnels, the executive engineer claimed that the tunnels will be constructed in the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project with very safe technologies, unlike the previous construction style.</p><p>Assistant Engineer Chandrashekhar, who is in-charge of the project, said that the power supply system under ‘One Nation One Grid’ will be used to supply the 2,000 MW of electricity generated under the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project.</p><p>The current 220 kV supply system available in this area will be upgraded to 400 kV, so there will be no need for additional land to lay new lines. He said that the project reports have already been submitted to the Central Forest and Wildlife Board, and there has been no obstruction to the current project.</p>
<p>For the country and state’s electricity future, the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project will be beneficial and it will have a minimal adverse impact on the environment, claimed KPCL Executive Engineer Umapathi.</p><p>He was speaking at a meeting convened to review the progress of the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project work held at the Public Works Department’s office near here on Friday.</p><p>KPCL EE Umapathi further claimed that when compared to the hydro-electric projects implemented in various parts of the state in the past, the possible damage to the environment by the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project is at a very minimal level.</p><p>The Pumped Storage Project has been formulated with the intention of supplying the electricity required for the development of the country at the lowest price by using the national assets available in the Sharavati Valley, such as dams and rainwater available as nature’s gift.</p><p>The existing dams will be used as they are and no changes will be made in this regard, he categorically stated.</p><p>Defending the project, the executive engineer said, the 0.5 TMC of water used daily from Linganamakki dam will continue to be used as usual, flowing through the valley and used by the public and farmers in various ways including electricity generation, agriculture, drinking, and fishing purpose. There will be no change in the flow and use of water, he claimed. The loss of human habitats during the implementation phase of this project is very minimal, and discussions have already been held with the families who will lose their land. Their complaints have also been accepted, he informed.</p><p>He said, the KPC has worked hard to collect rainwater in several stages before it flows on both sides of the Sharavati river valley, which originates in Ambuthirtha in Thirthahalli taluk, and converts it into electricity for the country. Already in the Sharavati Valley Project area, the Malali Tunnel, Vadanbailu Tunnel, Linganamakki Bidarur Tunnel, Varahi Geothermal Power Plant and the Ambuthirtha Project Tunnels, which were constructed about 50 years ago, are functioning very well. There has been no collapse or other adverse effects on the surface of the land here so far.</p><p>Referring to these tunnels, the executive engineer claimed that the tunnels will be constructed in the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project with very safe technologies, unlike the previous construction style.</p><p>Assistant Engineer Chandrashekhar, who is in-charge of the project, said that the power supply system under ‘One Nation One Grid’ will be used to supply the 2,000 MW of electricity generated under the Sharavati Pumped Storage Project.</p><p>The current 220 kV supply system available in this area will be upgraded to 400 kV, so there will be no need for additional land to lay new lines. He said that the project reports have already been submitted to the Central Forest and Wildlife Board, and there has been no obstruction to the current project.</p>
