This is British-era Shanan hydropower project at Jogindernagar, 40 km from Palampur. 

In 1925, it was constructed under a 99-year lease executed between Joginder Sen, Raja of Mandi state, and Col BC Batty, a British representative. It was commissioned in 1932.

The lease will end in 2024 after which Punjab will hand over the project to Himachal Pradesh. 

After the reorganisation of the states in 1966, the Shanan powerhouse was given to Punjab by the central government as the lease agreement was yet to expire.

The powerhouse was constructed against the backdrop of dense deodar forests with a four-stage haulage rail network starting from Jogindernagar up to Barot, a cup-shaped village on the banks of the Uhl. The tail water of the river is being used by the state government for another two power projects.

The British had also laid a small guage rail line between Pathankot and Joginder Nagar to transport heavy machinery to the Shanan Complex. A ropeway trolley, one of a kind in the country, was also constructed.

The Shanan powerhouse is one of the oldest powerhouses of the country, which used to feed the entire undivided Punjab, Lahore and Delhi before Independence. Its marvellous setting has made it more of a world tourist resort than a mere powerhouse.

Thousands of tourists from across the world visit Barot to enjoy the ride of haulage way trucks and trolleys.