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`Utility services in all villages soon'

HYDERABAD: The State Government has drawn up plans to reach out 24 utility services to all villages in the State soon, according to the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Interacting with newspapers editors and chiefs of electronic media on `Total Literacy Campaign' here, he said with Internet connectivity planned to be made available to all the villages in the State, information and communication would be quick, easy and cost-effective.

As a part of the `Total Literacy Campaign' undertaken, the Government plans to achieve 90 per cent literacy by the year 2005 by effectively using distance education programmes. The Government plans to use the satellite-based Ku-band network, which will b e developed in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation.

The Government plans to seek excise exemption from the Centre for computer hardware and television sets to be installed in all the schools and village community centres. With the availability of the Ku-band, the State will have access to about six channe ls and by digitising information and using cable networks, the Government expects to reach information faster, he said.

Using the Param supercomputer installed at the State Secretariat, the Government expects to leverage the data gathered from various parts of the State. The data will be used for planning by integrating the GIS (geographical information services)-based in formation.

Mr. Naidu said industrialists and private agencies would be involved in the literacy campaign and inputs on water conservation, environment protection and health care would be made mandatory as a part of the Government's efforts to educate the masses. -- Our Bureau

Unit of Gerusoppa project ready

BANGALORE: The Karnataka Power Corporation has completed the first unit of the Gerusoppa Tail Race project of the Sharavathy Valley. The project consists of four units of 60 MW each.

Briefing presspersons here, the Principal Secretary, Energy, Mr. P. S. S. Thomas, said the remaining units would be completed by the end of next year. Commissioning of the four units would augment power availability in the State by another 622 million un its.

The Rs. 531-crore project has been taken up with assistance from the Power Finance Corporation after the World Bank withdrew from the project funding. Mr. Thomas said evacuation lines would also be built soon since KPC has secured clearances from the Min istry of Environment and Forests. The project would result in the submergence of at least 110 hectares of forest area.

Mr. Thomas said if the current pace of the monsoons continued, the Sharavathy valley, which has a capacity of 1035 MW, could top 10,000 million units. Inflows into the main Linganamakki dam, which is the main reservoir of the Sharavathy Valley, are takin g place at about 58 thousand million cubic feet.

As a result, KPC's combined generation from both hydel and thermal projects would exceed 20,000 mu. He, however, said the outstandings from the transmission company to KPC was in the region of Rs. 1,340 crores. -- Our Bureau