MALKANGIRI: Deputy chief minister Kanak Vardan Singh Deo on Sunday said the solar-based pumped storage project (PSP) near Balimela will generate 600 MW additional power with zero displacement. It is scheduled for completion by 2031.
The PSP will have an underground powerhouse with two vertical-axis reversible-type francis and be used to store water for pumping it to the upper reservoir in a closed cycle operation. There will be only 5 percent water loss due to the project, he added.
He also inaugurated a hostel building at Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Balimela. Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, Chitrakonda MLA Mangu Khilla, Malkangiri MLA Narasingh Madkami and OHPC director of operations Ashish Mohanty accompanied him.
The deputy CM later attended the concluding ceremony of Malyabanta Mahotsav 2024. Addressing the huge crowd of one lakh, coming in from Malkangiri district and neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, he hailed the festival’s success and highlighted the government’s initiatives to support farmers.
“Whatever the BJP had promised before the elections, the government has delivered on time,” he said citing the welfare measures.
Nabarangpur MP Majhi and Malkangiri MLA Madkami also lauded the festival’s role in fostering cultural unity.
Singh Deo also visited the agriculture mela at Adivasi Ground where he inspected stalls and reviewed preparations for the paddy procurement set to begin at Malkangiri RMC on Monday. Watershed project director Shantanu Kumar Mahapatra briefed him on ongoing initiatives.