Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said his government was considering a proposal to start talks with Islamabad on opening a road between Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir and Skardu in Pakistani Kashmir.

Manmohan Singh said while laying the foundation stone for a hydroelectric project in the Kargil region: "I have been told that the people of Kargil want to revive their traditional ties with Baltistan and Gilgit (in the northern region of Pakistani Kashmir).

"We are examining a proposal to start talks in Pakistan to open the Kargil-Skardu road," he told a public gathering here.

"I am aware that this a traditional route through which trade was conducted between Ladakh and Kashmir for ages," Manmohan Singh said.

The prime minister, who was accompanied by Power Minister P.M. Sayeed and a small group of officials, indicated that the region would get more development projects.

"There are also oil and gas reserves in the area, the commercial exploitation of which can benefit the people," he said.

Manmohan Singh also announced a grant of Rs.100 million for the Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council.

Referring to the 1999 Kargil conflict to evict Pakistan-backed intruders, Manmohan Singh said: "Our effort is that you do not face such dangers again. That is why we have started talks with the Pakistan government to end all disputes so that the people of both countries can live in peace."

He said the starting of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus after 55 years was an important step in the process.

The prime minister also said that his government was considering various options to improve road connectivity in the Ladakh region, including giving the Srinagar-Leh road the status of a national highway and constructing a 12-km tunnel to bypass the Zojila pass which remains closed in winter.

The prime minister was in Leh to lay the foundation stone of a Rs.6.31 billion ($144 million) hydroelectric project in the Kargil region.
 
The prime minister and his crew flew to Kargil in an Indian Air Force helicopter for the 44 MW CChutak project on Suru River. It is to be built over a period of 48 months.

The prime minister will later lay the foundation for the 45 MW Nimoo Pazgo project at the Polo Ground here. The cost of the second project is estimated to be Rs.6.29 billion and it is also to be built over 48 months.

He will also address a public gathering at the ground.