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| 450 MWs mop up 60-years gap | | | | On first day of his Jammu and Kashmir tour, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has dedicated to the people of this state a much awaited, much delayed and much talked about project. It was not an ordinary project as its benefits are expected to reach every citizen of this state. A rare feat indeed! With the inauguration of Baglihar hydro-electric power project on river Chenab, Jammu and Kashmir has entered in the league of ‘powerful’ states of country. ‘Powerful’ because, availability of more power is direct boost to the economy and therefore empowerment of the people. Being in the power league does not mean that Jammu and Kashmir will be producing electricity at par with other states, say Himachal Pradesh. But needs to be celebrated is the fact that Jammu and Kashmir should be able to meet a major part of its local needs. The Baglihar hydro-electric power project is a run-of-the river scheme on Chenab River about 150 kilometers North of Jammu. The installed capacity of the Stage-I of the project is 450 MWs. This is more than the cumulative 309 MWs generated in the State during the last 60 years. Though our track record of power production has been quite sordid but it is indeed worth appreciating that finally after 60 years we have a project which mops up the gaps of past. The inauguration of the project is an important milestone in the State's pursuit to optimally utilize its hydro power potential and to meet the local requirement and open new vistas for economic development. The different components of the project include 143 meters high concrete gravity dam, 2.08 meter long and 10.5 meter dia concrete lined circular head race tunnel, three 150 MW Francis Turbines, three 168 MVA generators, ten 60 MVA single phase transformers, 400 KV SF6 gas insolated switch gear and 400 KV double circuit transmission line. The annual generation from the project will be about 2800 million units on a 90 per cent dependable year base. With the beginning of commercial generation of electricity at Baglihar, Jammu and Kashmir will be able to save Rs 400 Crores every year on account of power purchases. Baglihar project has come at a cost of Rs 5200 Crores which means approximately Rs 12 Crore have been spent on generation of each Mega Watt of power. The average expenditure at the projects in rest of the country is, however, Rs four Crore. This probably will have to be explained by the government at some stage as how this project cost far higher than what should have been. |
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