Jammu, Oct 3 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir government is planning to start work on the second phase of the Baglihar hydroelectric project in Ramban district in six months to boost the power generation capacity of the state, an official said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the proposed project site Friday. He sought details about the preparation of the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation (PDC) for undertaking the work. He also instructed that the blueprint should be ready in the next two weeks and work should start in six months, a PDC official who accompanied the chief minister told IANS.

Baglihar I was commissioned in October last year. It generates 450 MW of power. The second part of the project will have the same generating capacity, the official said.

Baglihar is about 135 km north of Jammu and is constructed on river Chenab.

“Now things are easier as the PDC has the knowledge and skills of construction of hydro-power projects after having successfully built the Baglihar project,” the official said.

Jammu and Kashmir has the potential to generate 20,000 MW of power. But it generates less than its potential because of the shortage of resources and the absence of technical knowhow.

The chief minister said the state needs to move forward. “To boost our energy generating potential, we must put our act together. More power will bring more investment to the state, and that would help generate employment for our unemployed youth,” he said.