CHANDRAKOTE, Jammu: Bringing cheer to people of Jammu and Kashmir facing acute power shortage, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Oct 10 commissioned the controversial 450 MW Baglihar power plant and said concerns of Pakistan, which raised objections over the project with World Bank, have been addressed.
The Rs 5,500 crore project built over river Chenab, which is expected to help the state generate a revenue of Rs 900 crore, was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister in the presence of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Governor N N Vohra and Union Ministers Lalu Prasad and Jairam Ramesh.
Addressing a public meeting, Singh said that in the implementation of project, special care has been taken to ensure that "genuine concerns" of Pakistan were taken care of so that it has no complaints in this regard.
Pakistan had approached the World Bank in 2005 alleging that the power plant was being built in violation of the Indus Water Treaty signed by the two countries in 1960 and apprehended it would divert water from its territory.
The Prime Minister used the occasion to renew the hand of friendship and cooperation with Pakistan. "It is the duty of people of India and Pakistan to learn to lend a helping hand to each other.
"I would like to invite Pakistan to work with India in achieving this objective," Singh said in his seven-minute speech at the function.
This is Singh's first visit to the state since the outbreak of recent agitation over the land row in Amarnath that left over 50 people dead.
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