Srinagar, July 12 -- The Nallah Sindh doesn't roar as it runs. It winds down from the glaciers of Sonamarg, cutting through steep ridges, feeding forests, villages, and hopes along its way.

Every bend of this icy river has a story. And in Gund and Kangan, two towns tucked in District Ganderbal, many of those stories begin with power.

Decades ago, the Upper Sindh Hydel Projects I and II changed life here.

USHP-I, built in the late 1960s in Tehsil Gund, became a source of steady jobs and economic growth. Shops sprung up. Roads got better. Families who once relied only on farming found themselves working at power stations, selling produce to a growing workforce, or simply benefiting from more predictable electricity.

Then came USHP-II in...