Games village gets North India's first green grid

The Commonwealth Games village today got a dedicated power sub-station, the first green grid in North India, to meet the electricity demands of the village and of the 2,00,000 people living in nearby areas.

The Rs 40-crore 66/11 KV Commonwealth Grid sub-station was inaugurated by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who said the facility would distribute around 50 Mw electricity to the village as well as the adjoining localities. “Not only the Games Village, the adjoining areas will also get the benefit of this grid. It draws power from Delhi as well as the national grid. There is no chance of power failure as it operates on a dual system. If it cannot draw power from Delhi, it will get power from the national grid,” said Dikshit.

She said the grid reflected the “green” spirit of the Games as environment-friendly fly ash bricks were used to construct it. It had facilities for water harvesting and 30 per cent of its area had green cover, Dikshit said.

Responding to a suggestion of East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, the chief minister said there was a need to tap solar energy also as conventional sources could not be there for ever.

She said by next year, the state would have enough power to meet all its needs and the government would do every bit to provide electricity to the people. But, consumers should also do their bit to conserve energy, she said.

She also took on those opposed to holding of the Games here, saying there would be some expenses but flyovers, new buses, the Metro system and other development works will stay.