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| No ray of light for Tulbul Navigation Project | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Oct 13: Even as the successful completion of the first phase of Baglihar hydro-power project is expected to give a major boost to the power sector of the state, we need to do an urgent rethink on the bureaucratic hurdles and incomprehensible delays involved. It sounds ironical that government took a nine and a half year to complete only the first phase of 900 MW Baglihar power project.
More so, mounting backlog of incomplete projects is not new in Kashmir. Projects are shelved half way for decades for mere lame excuses. Against this backdrop one cannot ignore Tulbal Navigation project also termed as Wular barrage project. There is no denying that government has shown lackluster attitude in addressing the dispute over Tulbal Navigation project which has been lingering on for decades.
The water storage project was to be constructed on the periphery of the 75Sq km Wular Lake-the largest fresh water lake in Asia. The project could have enabled water transport in the 22km stretch of river Jhelum between Sopore and Baramulla during winters when the water level is very low.
In order to improve navigation in the river, construction on 439 feet long barrage was started but Pakistan protested saying India could use it as a strategic weapon to control the flow of river. As a result project has been stuck for the past 20 years.
No doubt, the commissioning of Baglihar project has raised new hopes for the revival of the state economy, Tulbul Navigation project is equally important to meet the irrigation needs of the state.
Baglihar project has long remained a bone of contention for India and Pakistan. Last year World Bank cleared the project and asked India to reduce the height of the dam by 1.5 m, one of the objections raised by Pakistan.
The two phase 900 MW Baglihar project in Doda was started in June 1999 to tide over the state’s power crisis. According to Pakistan, the Baglihar dam would deprive it of more than 7000 cusecs of water a day destroying its agriculture. Pakistan took the issue to the World Bank, which had earlier mediated
The Indus Water Treaty on September 19, 1960 considered construction of the dam to be violation of the treaty.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his recent inaugural address affirmed that the first phase of Baglihar project was completed while acting upon the Indus water treaty.
Despite having huge hydro-electricity potential, Jammu and Kashmir is still economically backward state. This underlines the need to remove the bottlenecks impeding the progress of developmental projects.
The commissioning of Baglihar hydro electricity project on the river Chenab is no doubt a step forward in this regard but there is urgent need to give serious thought to all other incomplete projects. |
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