Mangaluru : Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday said the demand from undivided Dakshina Kannada to provide uninterrupted power supply round-the-clock would be considered positively and a decision would be announced soon after a technical evaluation.

Speaking after inaugurating the corporate office of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (MESCOM) here, Mr. Shivakumar was responding to the demand made by J.R. Lobo, MLA for Mangaluru South, in this connection.

Addressing the gathering earlier, Mr. Lobo had said that both Udupi and Dakshina Kannada are responsible for the success of Udupi Power Supply Company (UPCL).

If the demand from Udupi district for 24×7 power supply is to be positively considered, the same should be extended to Dakshina Kannada too, Mr. Lobo said. Mr. Shivakumar said the department was positive towards the demand since MESCOM has a customer-base which is sincere to the core in paying the bills.

Speaking about the solar policy introduced by him, Mr. Shivakumar said he had not considered offering solar parks for coastal and Malnad districts because of the monsoon. However, he said his department would sanction at least 100 solar-powered irrigation pumpsets to Dakshina Kannada in a week. If more pump sets are required, the department would sanction them too, he said and urged the administration to identify the beneficiaries.

The Minister said about 60-70 taluks have been identified to set up solar power parks at local levels to produce about 20 MW power, which should start functioning in about 18 months. This is apart from the 5,000 MW mega solar power park being established in Pavagada taluk of Tumkur district, he said. Mr. Lobo also urged Mr. Shivakumar to expedite the underground power supply cable project for Mangaluru city and speed up setting up of sub-stations in Mangaluru. District in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai, Ivan D’Souza, MLC, KPTCL Chairman Javed Akhtar, MESCOM Managing Director Chikkananjappa and others were present on the occasion.