114-year-old historic power plant still running in Himachal’s Chamba

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be arriving in Himachal Pradesh again, within a fortnight of his earlier visit to Himalayan state to rev up the BJP’s election campaign.

He will inaugurate the 180 MW Bajoli Holi power project of GMR Energy and launch two new hydel projects during his upcoming visit to Chamba on October 13 –his first visit to one of states’ under-developed districts. This is his fourth visit to the poll-bound state in the past four months.

Modi will address a pre-election rally at historic Chamba ‘chaugan’ – a sprawling and well-preserved flat space in the heart of the town. He will become the first Prime Minister to address any political rally at Chamba ‘Chaugan’ – known for popular folk legends like Kunj-Chanchlo, an emotional love story of a Gaddi girl.

But very few people know that Chamba—an erstwhile princely state was once known as “London” in India, a town with its own power station. Although Chamba district is now considered backward, its historic glory remains undisputed.

When most of the urban towns in India had no electricity, the 114 -year- old power project named after popular King Bhuri Singh was providing electricity to the entire population of Chamba town. The project is still in working condition and generates 6,000 units of power every day. The heritage landmark is holding on Chamba’s identity.

It is expected when PM Modi launches new projects, the mention of Bhuri Singh power project will certainly be a matter of interest apart from the fact why Chamba ‘s human index is still lowest in the state.

“Bhuri Singh power project is considered one of India’s oldest power stations in India set-up in 1908. One can imagine the visionary leadership of Raja Bhuri Singh. The 450 kw (half MW) power house on Sal river is a unique gift to the people of Chamba. The machinery was brought to the site through head loads as there were no roads or transport vehicles. The machines are working even now” says K R Bharti, a retired IAS officer, who has written a book on Chamba.

Wonders Krishan Dev, a native of Chamba “If Chamba can become smart in 1908 , then what has happened that today Chamba district has become a backward district after 100 years. This is surely a failure of the successive governments and leadership”, he alleges.

The Ravi river which flows along Chamba town already has been tapped for power generation. National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC) has four mega hydel projects while half a dozen have been set-up in the private sector.

As per locals, India’s first hydro power project was set-up at Shivanasamudra in Karnataka in 1902. After this, in the year 1908, Raja Bhuri Singh took an initiative to illuminate Chamba by building a small hydro power project for his state to utilise the water at Sal-river.

“The machines installed at that time are still in perfect functional position even as former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh also took interest in the quaint power station and got necessary modifications done to augment the power generation” recalls Asha Kumari, a sixth term MLA and scion of the royal family at Chamba.

Earlier to this, the turbines of the power house were relaid in year 1957 and later in 1985 a new turbine was also added to raise the capacity of the project from 200 KW to 450 KW. A new project was also installed to utilise additional water at Sal river but due to flash floods the project got washed way and could not be re-commissioned.

She, however, feels sad that the HPSEB Ltd had recently handed over the project to a private company to look after its operation and maintenance.

The journey of power generation, which started with less than half a MW in Himachal has now reached 11,000 MW. Himachal Pradesh has potential to generate 27,000 MW of power .In Ravi river alone, the generation has crossed 2000 MW as NHPC alone has three mega projects.

State’s Chief Secretary RD Dhiman, who also holds the charge of Power says: “The Bhuri Singh power project is a landmark for Chamba and also Himachal Pradesh. We are taking special care to keep the project in running position”.

Also Read: PM Modi strikes emotional chord with people ahead of Himachal polls