US condemns Nov 9 bombing in Pakistan, reaffirms commitment to regional security
The United States strongly condemned the November 9 bombing at a railway station in Pakistan's Quetta.
Work on the Rs 4,640.88-crore Kiru hydroelectric project on the Chenab river, which flows into Pakistan, would start within two months, a senior government official said.
District Development Commissioner (Kishtwar) Angrez Singh Rana and General Manager of Kiru project, Varinder Salman, visited the 624-megawatt Kiru and 540-MW Kwar hydroelectric project sites on Saturday.
“Various bottlenecks causing hindrances in the execution of the projects were discussed at length and immediate directions were issued for its resolution at the earliest,” Rana said.
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He said the major work of the “run-of-the-river” Kiru project, near Patharnakki village in Kishtwar district, will start within a period of two months.
A run-of-the-river project is a type of hydroelectric plant, where a river’s water is not held back in a reservoir, but flows back into the river after generating electricity.
The project proposed on the Chenab river, a tributary of the Indus, envisages construction of a 123-metre high dam with an underground powerhouse consisting four units of 156-MW each.
Rana said the affected families said they had not received compensation for their land, structures and fruit trees which were acquired for the projects.
Salman said non-payment of compensation was one of the reasons behind the delay in the execution of infrastructure work.
He directed revenue officials to identify a chunk of state land for the rehabilitation of affected families, who were assured by him of timely compensation.
Rana said the families would get proper training,so that they get jobs when the work on the project starts.
The Union environment ministry had given its nod to the Kiru and Kwar hydroelectric projects in July last year and April this year respectively. Both the projects are expected to be completed in 54 months each.
The projects would be developed by the Chenab Valley Power Projects (CVPP)–a joint venture among National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), state power body JKSPDC and Power Trading Corporation (India).
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