Rawat asks Centre to renovate NHs in Chardham shrines circuit

With the annual Chardham yatra pilgrimage all set to begin from April 21 in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Harish Rawat has urged the Centre to renovate all National Highways (NH) in the Chardham circuit which were badly damaged by the 2013 deluge.

The Chief Minister on Tuesday met Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on the issue.

During his interaction with Gadkari, Rawat emphasised that there was serious need for the improvement of roads in the state. He urged speedy renovation of NH 58 from Rudraprayag to Badrinath; NH-108 from Dharasu to Gangotri; NH-123 from Herbertpur to Badkot; NH-94 from Dharas to Phoolchatti, NH-109 from Rudraprayag to Gaurikund and NH-125 from Tanakpur to Pithoragarh.

Rawat also said that the condition of roads that linked Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand was also in bad shape. Primary among these highways were Saharanpur-Dehradun, Saharanpur-Roorkee-Haridwar, Najibabad-Kotdwar, Rampur-Rudrapur, Pilibhit-Tanakpur, Bahedi-Kiccha, Moradabad-Kashipur-Thakurdwara, Moradabad-Kashipur-Aligarh, all of which had been in bad condition for the past few years.

The CM described the reconstruction of these roads as necessary in the national interest. He said that wherever there were landslide zones, the roads needed more urgent treatment. These include the Nandprayag, Maithana, Birhi, Patal Ganga, Pagalnala, Helang, Baldaura, Lambagad slides on NH-58.

There was also an urgent need to speed up the ongoing construction work on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra Route on the Tawaghat-Ghatiyabagad-Lipulekh stretch.

He also proposed the construction of a bridge at Gunji and 3 bridges near Kalapani for the convenience of Mansaroval pilgrims. He reminded Gadkari of the DPR sent by the Indian Military Academy (IMA) Dehradun for construction of an under-pass, which required swift approval.

Gadkari assured Rawat that he would take swift action on all the demands.