Following the intervention of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the
administration has started taking steps towards the revival of the Mohra Power Project.
Of late year Hydro-Electric Works have made considerable headway in Jammu and Kashmir. This electric power is used in running factories irrigating fields and for lighting towns and villages as well as for other common household requirements. A hydro-electric power corporation has been set-up to mobilise resources for effective implementation of various projects.The total power generation in the state sector is 259mw. One of the hydroelectric projects in North Kashmir Baramullah district near the Line of Control (LOC) is the Mohra hydroelectric project and is set to be showcased as a masterpiece of architecture of yesteryears. Mohra made Srinagar the second city in the Indian sub-continent to be electrified during that era.
The power house started generating 3.75 megawatts electricity initially and it also served the purpose of irrigating nearest fields because of its unique construction. The power house suffered severe damage in the multiple floods that hit the area time to time. In 1959, the old power house was severely damaged in the flood and was renovated and its capacity was increased to 9 MW in the year 1962 and remained operational till 1992.
However, the 1992 floods again proved disastrous for the powerhouse and it devastated it beyond repair. The successive regimes latter showed no interest in reviving this historic power house.
Given the historic and heritage importance of the Mohra hydroelectric project, the then managing director, Jammu and Kashmir state power development corporation, Shah Faesal in the year 2017 had said that the corporation has prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Rs 120 crore to revive the heritage project under Prime Ministers development package.
The recent announcement of principal secretary to Government, RohitKansal, that Mohra hydroelectric project will be revived by constructing a 10.5 MW small hydro electric project at Mohra has again given a hope for the revival of this hydroelectric power project.
He said that Mohra HEP shall be taken up for its construction by J&K power development corporation and the work is expected to be allotted as early as March 21.
Given the historical importance of the power project, the residents hope that the new project will accommodate most of the old features particularly the water flume which can turn the site into a major tourist attraction too.
Following the intervention of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the administration has started taking steps towards the revival of the project.
The project, a run-off river scheme was constructed in 1905 on river Jhelum at Boniyar, 35 km downstream of Baramulla, with an installed capacity of 4 MW, later enhanced to 9 MW. It was constructed against the most challenging topography by constructing an 11 km long wooden flume (artificial channel) to carry water to run the turbines and generate electricity.
The power project has been declared a heritage but it is lying in neglect.
However, recently the administration took the initiative to revive the heritage project. Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Vivek Bhardawaj, while recently chairing the meeting of the Board of Directors of Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Limited sanctioned Rs.133.50 crore for the project.
The flume has disappeared in most parts and its remnants are visible on the roadside while driving towards Uri from Baramulla. The marvelous structure has been plundered by miscreants who have stolen the high-quality wood that was used to build the flume.
British engineers designed the 4000 kilowatts project on the left bank of Jhelum. The project was of its own kind as water of Jhelum was diverted about 11 kms higher up into a canal running mostly in the wooden flume of 8 square feet that not only fed the turbines but also supplied water to farmers for irrigation
Electric supply from Mohra reshaped the lifestyle in Kashmir and was also used for heating the water basins in the silk factory and running the reeling machines. The project was damaged by Pakistani raiders in October 1947 after which it was made operational in 1955 but was again badly damaged in the floods of July 1959.
According to the record, five streams were negotiated by passing them clean over the flume, and at the other six water courses, the flume had to be built on strong iron bridges. As a masterpiece of architecture, six tunnels were also built through rocky terrain for the flume to cross. Only about 3 km of the nearly 11 km length of the flume was built of masonry and the remaining portion was crafted with deodar timber.
LG Manoj Sinha is said to be highly interested in the project and is aiming for early completion. A heritage conservationist is being consulted on possible revival options, an officer said. Power Secretary Niteshwar Kumar has stressed completing the works within the timeframe.
The project, historians suggest, was the second powerhouse in the Indian subcontinent. When the Maharaja of Mysore set up the Kaveri Power scheme in 1902 at Shivasamudram to electrify Kolar Gold Fields and later Mysore and Bangalore, the Kashmir monarch Pratap Singh hired the same legendry engineer Major Dlain de Latbiniere to set up this project in Uri. The Labour force came from Ladakh, Baltistan, and Afghanistan, and the skilled ones from Punjab.
