Modi to visit Ladakh Tuesday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the 330 km Leh-Srinagar transmission line and inaugurate two hydro-power projects in the Ladakh region during his day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday.

This is Modi's first visit to the cold desert Ladakh region and second to the state after he took over as the prime minister.

The transmission line will connect the Ladakh region with the country's northern grid and ultimately solve the electricity woes of the energy starved Leh and Kargil districts.

The prime minister will inaugurate the Chutak hydro-electric power project in Kargil and Nimoo Bazgo project in Leh district.

The Srinagar-Leh transmission line was announced by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in August 2003 during his three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir as part of an economic package.

The cost of the transmission line was initially projected at Rs.300 crores but due to cost over runs the project is likely to cost over Rs.1,700 crores now.

The Chutak project in Kargil district is a run-of-the-river project built on Suru river and has a generation capacity of 44 megawatts while the Nimoo Bazgo project in Leh district is built on the Indus river with a generation capacity of 45 megawatts.