IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2020 - 88

Deepak Tiku

Mohra hydro plant
light of the valley

It is really gratifying to think
that we are today in possession
of such a great and powerful
source of electrical energy so
rarely possessed by other countries or governments. The beginning may no doubt be humble,
but it promises a great industrial
future for Kashmir.
-Maharaja Pratap Singh,
September 21, 1908.
[The Times of India, "Jhelum
in Harness: Inauguration
of the Works," Bombay, India,
Sept. 28, 1908, pp. 7-8.]

ELECTRICAL POWER GAINED ITS
foothold on the Indian subcontinent
when the 19th century was at its close.
There were four hydroelectric plants
operating in the Indian dominion
at Darjeeling (1897), Sivasamudram
(1902), Karteri Falls (1904), and Mohra
(1908) (Figure 1). The Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir, despite being
isolated by lofty mountain ranges, was
progressive and at the forefront of embracing emerging technologies. Electric power was still in its infancy when
the state decided to send a few young
scholars to England and America to be
trained as electrical engineers during
the early 1900s.
The valley of Kashmir was considered the playground of the East.
The journey along the rickety mountain road and the long travel time acted
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2020.2999792
Date of current version: 19 July 2020

ieee power & energy magazine

as deterrents. There were many modern modes of transportation under active consideration for quite some time,
linking the capital city of Srinagar to
British-ruled India, for which detailed
surveys were conducted by Kashmir
Durbar, the state council. Using electricity as motive power was thought to
be the only solution for these schemes,
as electric traction offered better performance and because there was no
sustainable indigenous supply of fuel.
An electric railway of 180 mi had never
been proposed anywhere in the world.
An elaborate dredging scheme run by
electric power was planned to overcome the frequent flooding of valley.
The city of Srinagar had one of the
largest and most profitable quality-silk
factories in the world. To modernize it,
electric power would be used to drive
its machinery and heating, which had
been running on steam and quickly depleting the state forests of the timber
that was used for fuel. The application
of electrical currents to convert abundantly available limestone into fertilizer was thought to be a new business
opportunity for the state.
These great engineering enterprises
owed their success to the availability
of cheap electric power. This led to the
installation of the first hydroelectric
power plant in the Vale of Kashmir,
at Mohra. Electric power would add
to the productive wealth of the state;
revive the old, decaying handloom industry; and help develop faster communication methods, which would improve the condition of the inhabitants.
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A new era of prosperity would ensue
for the world-famed valley, which was
frequently ravaged by floods, fires,
earthquakes, and epidemics. The water power scheme's success hinged on
manufacturing works located far away
to the west. Americans were enterprising enough to meet the requisite conditions and, as a result, secured contracts
for the power plant's electrical and hydraulic works, the high-tension lines,
and the dredging facilities, while the

figure 1. The end view of the Mohra
powerhouse. (From H. Homberger,
"Jhelum hydro-electric power plant,"
J. Electricity Power Gas, vol. 26, no. 5,
p. 115, Feb. 4, 1911.)
september/october 2020

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