BY MOHD MAJID MALIK ,DODA,MAY20—-Power development in Jammu and Kashmir has long and distinguished history of 9 MW Mohra Hydro-electric plant, among the first of its kind in the subcontinent was developed as early as 1905 The estimated Hydel Potential is about twenty thousand Mega watts 20,000MW, out of which project of about 16200 MW capacity have already been identified. As per belief these project are Techno-economically viable, beside being eco-friendly and socially beneficial.
The Entire Valley of Chenab which extended in to three District namely Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban are the major portion where these Power Project are being executed. Out 16200 MW the main portion of which is from the Doda region like Baghliar 900 MW, Bhaderwah 0.50 MW, lower Khalani 50 MW, Karthai 240 MW, Kiru 600 MW, Ratle 690 MW, Kewar 520 MW, Pakul Dul, 1000MW, Bursar 1020, Ranjala Dunadi 15 MW and Dulhasti 390 MW. But the people of entire region are still without having the uninterrupted power supply, this is worth mention here that apart from the fact that Doda is main portion in the state of jammu and Kashmir in generation of power there are still some villages in Doda District where the light is still a distant dream for the people residing.
We are living in fear from last 3 years in the sloppy hills of the Puldoda, said Muneer Ahmed of Pul Doda he further added that at the time of submerging the puldoda in the river Chenab due to commissioning of Baglihar Hydel Project the State Govt and District administration assured us for providing the piece of land and compensation too but we only get the meager amount as compensation but no piece of land, we are still with out houses. With the commissioning of another power project Namely Ratle in this region the another village Drabshalla is near to submerge in the river Chenab but the Govt is mum for making any policy for the people living in this valley.
Mohd Rafiq of Drabshalla said After the news of commissioning of Rattle Power project me and my family is in fear of living our homes still we don’t get any notice from the Govt but a burden of tension regarding my family and my children’s lead me towards the high blood Pressure.The entire Chenab valley is pollution free and Govt didn’t give any heed towards preservation of natural assets but to make the money, Contrary to popular belief, hydroelectric power can seriously damage the climate. Proposed changes to the way countries’ climate budgets are calculated aim to take greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower reservoirs into account, but some experts worry that they will not go far enough. Hydroelectric dams produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, and in some cases produce more of these greenhouse gases than power plants running on fossil fuels. Carbon emissions vary from dam to dam In a study to be published in Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Fearnside estimates that in 1990 the greenhouse effect of emissions from the Curuá – Una dam in Pará, Brazil, was more than three-and-a-half times what would have been produced by generating the same amount of electricity from oil.
This is because large amounts of carbon tied up in trees and other plants are released when the reservoir is initially flooded and the plants rot. Then after this first pulse of decay, plant matter settling on the reservoir’s bottom decomposes without oxygen, resulting in a build-up of dissolved methane. This is released into the atmosphere when water passes through the dam’s turbines. The untold story of the entire Chenab valley are rarely listen by any of the politician or a political party, the entire Chenab region is The “Hen giving the golden eggs” everyone wants to get the eggs but no one wants to feed. being six assembly seats from Doda, it always became a sandwich in between the political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir the tussle of power between the Jammu Based leaders and Kashmir Based parties the people living in “AND” were always been discriminated either Politically or Socially.