It was a Friday afternoon in the month of Ramadan. The dam site of the 330MW Kishanganga hydropower project - due for inauguration on Saturday - looked deserted as most of the local workers had left for afternoon prayers.

Two local Gurezi contractors of Reliance Jio mobile services came rushing to the hydel project contractor, Hindustan Construction Company (HCC). They want some last minute help to launch 4G services in Gurez.

Jio has brought OFC cable to this last post of the country in northern Kashmir bordering Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, through the 24-km head tunnel from the dam on the Kishanganga river to Bandipora, some 84 km away by road, through one of the world’s coldest regions in the Razdan Pass.

Located in one of the coldest zones in the Himalayas, Gurez, the home of the Dard tribe whose culture is very different from the average Kashmiri’s except for religion, remains buried under fields of snow and is detached from the world during the five winter months.

Leave alone data connectivity, even basic tele-connection is weak here. The issue will now be resolved courtesy a showpiece hydel project.

Showpiece project

Built at an astronomical cost of over Rs 5,700 crore or Rs 17 crore a MW, Kishanganga is a path-breaking project. It diverts a portion of water from the Kishanganga, a tributary of the Jhelum, in Gurez, before the river enters Pakistan.

The diverted water is used for generating hydropower at Bandipora by NHPC (Kishanganga hydel), and then released back into the Jhelum (through a network of rivers and water bodies), which flows into Pakistan.

What is interesting though, is that before the diverted water is released, it increases lean season water availability at NHPC's Uri I (480MW) and Uri II (240MW) hydropower projects on Jhelum.

This complex planning has allowed India to use the Kishanganga water, bypassing the non-consumptive clauses (on Pakistan-bound rivers), and prevailed over Pakistan's objections in the international court in December 2013.

But it cost time and money. Conceived in 2007, the project has seen a 60 per cent escalation in expenses. Costs have also been high as the project has to deal with exceptional weather conditions.

The dam is located in a glacial zone and the water freezes in the winter. To deal with it, the dam gates have ice cutters. Also, a part of the electricity generated will be used to keep the gates warm in the winter.

Gurez is happy

However, completion of the project has not cheered every Kashmiri. As the Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Srinagar to dedicate the hydel power station, Kashmir is observing another bandh, a weekly phenomenon here, called by the Hurriyat.

But Gurezis are happy. The project will change the landscape of their homeland - an island of peace in an otherwise restless Kashmir.

Of the 12 per cent royalty power to be shared by the owner and operator of the project, NHPC, a good part will go to keep the homes of Gurezis warm in the biting cold. They were so far surviving on DG generation, but running them in winter was a challenge. To stop freezing, diesel is mixed with 20 per cent ATF.

Gurezis were also compensated handsomely for loss of land, mostly due to the submergence of their of land. Available estimates suggest for each house submerged, NHPC paid up to Rs 50 lakh. Those who lost agricultural land have been compensated with over Rs 5.5 lakh a kanal (eight kanals make one acre).

Over and above all that, nearly 70 per cent of project workers that HCC has recruited are locals, opening up earning opportunities for them. Iftiqar Chaket from Wanpura village near the dam site, earns Rs 10,000 a month as cook in HCC mess.

Stone pelters of Bandipora

The project would also benefit Bandipora, where the power house and associated infrastructure is located. Over the last decade, the district town has witnessed hectic activity. As in Gurez, locals are the majority of construction workers. Also, as the project headquarters, the local economy in Bandipora has benefitted by the hiring of cars and other essentials.

But that has not stopped stone-pelting and frequent bandhs crippling activity. The HCC project manager’s office windows have a protective wire mesh, as do the wind-shields of the project cars. Those who don't, like Firdaus from Bandipora, who runs his Mahendra SUV for HCC, prefers it to be damaged once. Because pelters enjoy breaking new wind-shields. Bandhs are commonplace too. A rough count suggests the project suffered at least a year's delay due to bandhs.

"Not a week goes by without bandhs," says Firdaus. Doesn't it impact his life? Yes it does, but who will object? If the Hurriyat gives the call, responding to it is the norm.

comment COMMENT NOW