Fault Lines In Expressway

Construction of Char Dham national highway has cost Uttarakhand its ecological balance, as ISHAN KUKRETI discovers in his 250 km travel through the devasted terrain

THE COLOURFUL landscape of the Lesser Himalayas at Muni Ki Reti, on the outskirts of Rishikesh, does not paint a pretty picture. Florescent yellow of construction workers’ jackets dots the pale brown debris of the mountain in Uttarakhand. The greenery is replaced by the yellow and red of excavators and trucks. The mountain lays wounded and bare with the deep, sharp cuts which excavators have made to construct a road. The eyes adjust to seeing rows of hillocks formed by debris dumped by road construction trucks. Half uprooted trees hanging mid-air is a usual sight.

It’s not just road construction that has ravaged the mountain. Landslides are a recurring feature along Char Dham highways that lead up to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.

The Lesser Himalayas have a history of frequent landslides because of their recent origin and are, therefore, unstable. In 2003, a massive landslide damaged at least 100 buildings. As many as 3,000 people had to be evacuated. Heavy rains in 2016 killed scores of people in Pithoragarh and changed the landscape.

In such an ecologically sensitive area, the Centre decided to launch a `12,000-crore project to improve road connectivity to the four revered Hindu pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the construction of the Char Dham Mahamarg on December 27, 2016, as a tribute to those who died in the 2013 Kedarnath disaster.

The project will refurbish 900 km of the damaged highways with two lanes, 12 bypass roads, 15 big flyovers, 101 small bridges, 3,596 culverts and two tunnels. The roads will be widened at least 10 metres, and will be strong enough to withstand the harsh climate of the region. The improved highway circuit aims to ease traffic during the Char Dham Yatra, the backbone of Uttarakhand’s tourism and economy.