Srinagar, Dec. 16 -- Jammu and Kashmir stands at a crossroads. A land blessed with rivers that roar through its valleys and mountains that cradle immense natural wealth continues to live with fragile infrastructure and unreliable systems. The paradox is striking: a province with one of India's richest hydropower potentials still struggles with power cuts, irrigation failures and the daily anxieties of communities who cannot depend on the basics. This is not a story of scarcity but of squandered opportunity.

Hydropower has long been hailed as the union territory's natural advantage. Experts estimate more than 12,000 MW of capacity could be harnessed, yet only a fraction has been realized. The result is a paradoxical dependence on costly i...