UPCL: Plea to go for underground cables

July 24, 2011

upcl

Mangalore, July 24: Kuduremukh Wildlife Foundation coordinator Niren Jain has urged the Minister for Energy Shobha Karandlaje to undertake Under Ground High Tension Power Transmission cabling system for the Udupi Power Corporation Ltd (UPCL) transmission line from Nandikur to Hassan, passing through high density forests of Western Ghats.

In a press release, he said the proposal of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) to run the 400kv D/C high tension power transmission line through the forests of Charmadi Ghats for UPCL thermal power generating station at Nandikur to the receiving station at Shantigrama (Hassan) involves cutting of thousands of trees in the Western Ghats which will irreversibly damage one of the most sensitive forest ecosystems of the region.

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) while granting forest clearance for laying the transmission lines has clearly stated that “the project proponent shall explore the possibility of laying underground cable transmission system through the corridor (wildlife corridor)........”

The proposed alignment of transmission lines falls in eco-sensitive area of the Western Ghats involving 76.37 acres and 89.29 acres of forest land in Chikmagalur and Mangalore division respectively totalling 165.66 acres of forest land.

Use technology

He said the Foundation is urging the State government to use the already available advanced technologies for laying underground cables along the road side of Charmadi Ghats for the transmission line outside the forests of Western Ghats as overhead lines.

“The total difference in cost will be marginal if we offset the amount of Rs 20 crores, the Net Present Value (NPV) of the forests earmarked for felling which is already deposited by KPTCL for forest clearance and additional amount for compensatory afforestation elsewhere.”

There is also a need to look into the economics of maintaining the watershed catchment of river Nethravathi where the transmission line is proposed to cut across which is presently not taken into account while calculating the difference in cost for laying overhead transmission line Vs Under Ground Cabling.

The high tension underground transmission cables have been developed for the purpose of avoiding damage to high density forest areas and to avoid other environmental hazards.

The underground cable technology is widely used and has been time tested, he said.

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News Network
May 2,2020

Udupi, May 2: During the lockdown period the Department of Public Library digitised more books to the Karnataka Digital Public Library (KDPL).

According to the data released by the KDPL issued here on Saturday , as on April 29, 89,239 people from the State have already registered for the digital library.  From these 1,807 are from Dakshina Kannada district and 605 from the Udupi district.

The digital library already has a repository of 35,500 e-books, 4,800 videos, 59,980 e-journals and 1,112 items for children.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 4,2020

Mangaluru, Aug 4: The Kasaragod district administration has decided to restore the e-pass system for daily commuters between Kasaragod and Mangaluru amid covid-19 crisis. 

As covid-19 cases began to increase in Dakshina Kannada, the Kasargod district administration had unilaterally newly introduced of daily pass system on July 6 for entry and exit from Talapady border. This had inconvenienced hundreds of employees, who visited Mangaluru daily to eke a living. 

The decision to resume the pass system was taken in a video conference of Kerala Revenue Minister Chandrasekharan with officials and elected representatives on August 3.

The minister said the Kasaragod district administration will resume issuing of passes for daily commuters between Kasaragod and Mangaluru. But they should undergo rapid antigen test for every week to renew their passes.

"Similarly, one-time interstate passes will be issued for those who want to take part in marriages, funeral and other functions in both states. Even they should undergo antigen test after returning from the functions,” the minister added.

As per the previous order, daily commuters, especially employees, had to stay in Mangaluru for 28 days before returning to Kasargod. Later, Kerala government relaxed rules on July 23 allowing only bank employees from Kasaragod to travel daily in their private vehicles to their workplace in Dakshina Kannada.

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News Network
July 14,2020

Bengaluru, July 14: The Karnataka government has allowed some relaxations during the week-long lockdown in Bengaluru urban and rural districts. The lockdown will commence from 8p.m. today (July 14) and end at 5a.m. on July 22.  The government has released the guidelines for lockdown.

Restrictions

*No new flights or trains will be permitted; only flights and trains already scheduled will continue to operate. Flight and train tickets shall serve as passes for movement by taxis/cab aggregators/auto rickshaws.

* Metro rail services prohibited

* Taxis and services of cab aggregators will be prohibited except for emergency and as permitted in guidelines.

* Schools, colleges, educational/training/coaching institutions etc. will remain closed. Online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted. Examination already scheduled shall be permitted

* Hotels, restaurants, and hospitality services, prohibited except those meant for health/police/government officials/healthcare workers. Hotels and restaurants shall be permitted to operate kitchens for takeaway/home delivery of food items only.

* All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes, stadia, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places.

* All social/political/sports/entertainment/academic/cultural religious functions/other gatherings and large congregations.

* All religious places/places of worship shall be closed for public. Religious congregations are strictly prohibited. Commercial and private establishment shall be closed down

Relaxations (outside containment zone)

* Shops including ration shops (PDS), dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, etc. to open only from 5 am to 12 noon. Home delivery of essential items shall be encouraged.

* All facilities in the supply chain of essential goods, whether involved in manufacturing, wholesale or retail of such goods through local stores, large brick and mortar stores or e-commerce companies.

* All food processing and related industries.

* Banks, insurance offices and ATM.

* Print and electronic media.

* Telecommunication, internet services, broadcasting and cable services, IT and IT-enabled services with minimum staff for essential purposes. As far as possible, work from home should be encouraged.

* Delivery of essential items such as food, medicines, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment through e-commerce.

* Power generation, transmission and distribution units and services.

* Capital and debt market services and notified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)

* Cold storage and warehousing services.

* Private security services.

* Delivery of goods by E-Commerce companies. Industries/industrial establishments as listed below will be allowed to operate (outside containment zones):

i. Production units which require continuous process, and their supply chain.

ii. Food processing industries, manufacturing of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates.

iii. Manufacturing of packing materials.

iv. Manufacturing and other industrial establishment with access control in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) or outside municipal limits and Export Oriented Units (EoUs), Industrial townships. Construction activities will be allowed in continuation of works in construction projects, where workers are available on site.

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