‘28% dip in AT&C losses in J&K; Scuppered 2 lakh cyberattacks during Op Sindoor’
Srinagar: Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Thursday said the government will revive the Tulbul project on the Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir as it no longer needs Pakistan’s consent after the Centre put the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance.
The Union Minister also said India will “definitely” work on new hydro-electric projects in the wake of the suspension of the IWT with Pakistan following April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
“Before, whenever we had to undertake some work, we had to discuss that with them (Pakistan) and could not do anything without their consent.
“There was a project (Tulbul) under Wular Lake which was conceived in 1981. But, they did not give their consent and it was shelved. Now, when there is no need (for consent), we will restart the project and a DPR will be prepared soon,” Khattar said here.
He was addressing a press conference on the completion of 11 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.
Asked if the government would start working on new hydro-electric projects following the suspension of the IWT, the Union minister said, “Yes, definitely.”
“Whatever they have to do, let them do that. We have given them a response and if they do anything again, they will get a response on the same pattern,” he said when asked about Pakistan warning of building any projects.
The Tulbul project, which envisaged constructing a 439-ft-long and 40-ft-wide barrage with a storage capacity of 0.30 million-acre-feet (MAF) below the Wular Lake near Ningli in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district to stabilise Jhelum’s water level, was abandoned midway in 1987 after strong objections from Pakistan.
He added that there was a decline in Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses in Jammu and Kashmir by nearly 28 percent.
But he was quick to add that AT&C losses in Jammu and Kashmir were still above the national average.
The Minister also said that the power theft has reduced in J&K following the installation of smart meters.
Speaking at a press conference—marking 11 years of the BJP-led Central government, said, “Earlier Jammu and Kashmir was facing a huge power theft. There were 60 percent of Aggregate Technical and Commercial Losses (AT&C) that has been reduced to only 32 percent.”
“When I asked about the reasons for the losses, I was informed that there used to be illegal hooking on electricity lines. But now people have accepted the fact that installing smart meters is for their good,” he said.
Khattar further said that there is a huge contribution of hydro power of Jammu and Kashmir to the power sector of India. “We will strengthen the existing power projects of Jammu and Kashmir and very soon we will introduce new power projects here especially after the abeyance of Indus Water Treaty, we have a new source of setting up of power projects.”
The Minister said, “In power sector, there was a power deficiency of 4.5 percent in 2013 and now we have become power sufficient and with the non-fossil power we will have surplus power.”
“In the non-fossil power, we have kept a target of 40 percent earlier which further increased by 8 percent. Very soon we will achieve the target of 50 percent,” he said.
He also informed that India foiled around two lakh cyberattacks targeting its power infrastructure in over the week during the Operation Sindoor.
“Since the advancement in technology, new dangers have emerged — cyberattacks or cybercrimes. There has been an increase in these, but the government has worked on it, and our cybersecurity has almost stopped all such dangers,” Khattar told reporters here.
He was addressing a press conference on the completion of 11 years of the BJP-led Central government.
“There have been many cyberattacks on the country. As far as the Power department is concerned, around two lakh cyberattacks were attempted, but our cyber department foiled each one of them, and there were no losses,” the minister said.
Khattar said these attempts were made in “eight to ten days” around the time Operation Sindoor went underway.
Asked whether the attacks were made from within the country or outside it, the minister said these attacks can take place from any corner of the world.
“It is known worldwide that those against us will do things like these, but … We have stopped such attacks. Our system is capable and in the future also, we will foil all such attacks,” he said.
“When someone fails for the first time, and second time, he will ultimately get discouraged and stop,” he added.
