Dulhasti (J-K), Apr 26 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today dedicated the 390 MW Dul-Hasti hydro electric power project to the nation.

The project, the foundation stone of which was laid down in 1983 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, is on the Chenab river in Kishtwar District, about 230 km from Jammu.

On the second leg of the Prime Minister’s two-day visit to the Jammu region, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad accompanied him for the formal inauguration of the Dul-Hasti project.

Using a state-of-the-art technology, water of the Chenab River is collected between the mountains at Dul village and channelised down to village Hasti via a 2.5 km tunnel where it falls on the turbines and electricity is generated.

The work on Dul-Hasti Power Project was sanctioned at the initial cost of Rs 183 crore. Rs 5,228 crore have been spent on this mega project till now.

The project provides peaking power to the Northern Grid with beneficiary states being Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Rajasthan, Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh.

On the total power generation, one per cent free power is for local area development in addition to twelve per cent free power to the host state.

The Prime minister will also address a public meeting at Kishtwar, the newly-carved out backward district of Doda region, the native place of Chief Minister Gulam Nabi Azad. (ANI)