Kishtwar In J&K Set To Be Upcoming Power Hub Of North India: Jitendra Singh
Union Minister of State, Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, said today that Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar is all set to emerge as North India’s major "power hub," generating around 6,000 MW of power after the completion of the ongoing power projects.
Singh, who was on an extensive tour of the remote and peripheral areas of the hill district of Kishtwar, visited Gulabgarh in the Paddar area and the far village of Massu, where he also inaugurated the new school set up by “Shiksha Bharti” for the village children.
The Union Minister, who is also a known physician and diabetologist, also participated in the multi-specialty medical camp organised by the Indian Army at village Gulabgarh.
During his address and later speaking to the media, Singh said that 6 to 7 major hydropower projects have come to the region in a short span of 9 to 10 years, ever since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister.
Elaborating on this, he pointed out that the largest capacity project is Pakal Dul, with a capacity of 1,000 MW. Its estimated cost, as of now, is Rs. 8,112.12 crore, and expected timeline of competition is 2025.
Another major project is the Kiru Hydroelectric Project, with a capacity of 624 MW. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 4,285.59 crore and the timeline in this case is also 2025, he said.
The Minister further informed that at the same time, the 850 MW Ratle project has been revived as a joint venture between the Centre and UT of J&K. In addition, the existing Dulhasti power station has an installed capacity of 390 MW, while the Dulhasti II hydroelectric project will have a capacity of 260 MW.
Dr Jitendra Singh said these projects shall not only augment the power supply position, thereby making up for the shortage of power supply in the UT of J&K, but the huge investment being made for the construction of these projects is also a boost for direct as well as indirect opportunities for the local people.
For six long decades, said Dr Jitendra Singh, successive governments at the centre and the state had ignored the Kishtwar region. It was only after Prime Minister Modi took over that he changed the work culture and ensured that all neglected regions would be given due attention and priority so that they may also rise to the same level.
Citing another example, Singh said that before 2014, road travel to Kishtwar was cumbersome, and on the slightest landside, the Doda-Kishtwar road got blocked. But today, the road travel time from Jammu to Kishtwar has reduced from over 7 hours in 2014 to less than 5 hours now. Similarly, he said, during these 9 years, Kishtwar has come up on the Aviation Map of India and has been sanctioned an airport under the Centre’s UDAAN Scheme, which nobody had ever imagined.
As for Machail, Singh said mobile towers have been set up, multiple toilet complexes have been constructed, and solar plants have been installed for regular power supply. All this happened only after 2014. Not only this, the motorable road to Machail is under fast-track construction, and the day is not far when Kishtwar to Machail travel would be just about 1 1⁄2 to 2 hours, he added.
Meanwhile, the multi-specialty medical camp organised by the Army at Gulabgarh provided medical care to nearly 2,000 patients. All the villagers registered for the camp were ushered to the General OPD, where medical officers and specialists elicited clinical details and advised investigations where required.
The cases of anaemia, hypertension, diabetes, migraine, cervical spondylosis, and pulmonary tuberculosis were diagnosed and managed. The medical specialist provided consultation and treatment to the patients. Patients with diabetes were counselled for dietary modification.
Patients with known hypertension were educated about the diseases, and their antihypertensive medications were optimised as per their recorded BP in camp with healthy dietary advice. Patients with tuberculosis were counselled for anti-tubercular drug treatment, with advice to follow up at DOTS centers.
Singh thanked the Army and the team led by Major General Shivendra Singh for providing the much-needed medical facilities to this remote, hilly rural area. He said the people of this region are eagerly thankful to the Army, which has stood by them during times of terrorism and also come forward to serve them in times of peace.
