File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
In his second visit to Jammu and Kashmir after assuming office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Leh and Kargil tomorrow. Coming ahead of the assembly-elections, the trip will involve a major boost for the power sector in the energy-starved state.
Mr Modi will lay the foundation stone for the first power transmission line from Leh to Srinagar and inaugurate two hydel power projects - 45-megawatt Nimoo Bazgo in Leh and the 44-megawatt Chutak in Kargil district.
The average demand for electricity in J&K is 3000 megawatt and the supply just half of it, from the state's own power plans and the northern grid. The huge shortfall means long hours of power cuts and Leh and Kargil are among the worst sufferers.
The transmission line - a project announced by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in August 2003 -- will connect Ladakh with the country's northern grid and go a long way towards solving the power woes of Leh.
The project, estimated to cost Rs 300 crore, will now come for a whopping Rs 1,700 crore.
Mr Modi, who would be accompanied by Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, will also meet the Army and IAF personnel.
Chief Executive Councillor of Ladakh Hill Development Council Rigzin Spalbar told PTI the people of Ladakh had high expectations from the visit. "I hope the BJP lives up to its promise of granting Union Territory status to the region," he said.
The BJP bagged the Ladakh parliamentary constituency for the first time this year, when its candidate Thupstan Chhewang won by a slender margin of 36 votes.