Experts suggest all-weather roads

The project would cut distances by 423 km and help avoid hazardous travel

The ferocity of floods was so severe in Garhwal region that it left most of the roads battered and bruised. Experts say the answer to this fury would be to construct all-weather road. In a new plan submitted to the government, top experts in the state planning commission have proposed all weather roads comprising 99.6 km in length and 14 tunnels that would reduce the distance and save precious time of travellers.

The total cost of the tunnel project will be Rs 18,791.5 crore, says Harshpati Unniyal, adviser to the state planning commission.

Zozila in Jammu and Kashmir and Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh are two famous places where such all weather roads are being constructed to avoid travails of travellers. Besides, more such roads are being planned in other parts of these states also. And in Uttarakhand, the plan of constructing all weather roads would soon be put before Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, said Unniyal. The project is the brainchild of Unniyal, a civil engineer.

“The existing road network in Chardham area of Uttarakhand and towns had been constructed along the river valley and close to big rivers like Alaknanda, Mandakini and Bhagirathi. This alignment is most vulnerable to floods, landslides and subsidence. Besides exorbitant cost of maintenance, massive loss of life and property has become an annual feature. These roads are lifeline of the Garhwal region which is totally dependent on the tourism with more than 10 lakh pilgrims and tourists visiting every year. These roads are also very strategic because of China border. Hence all weather roads are very important,” said Unniyal.

In case the project is undertaken, it would help in reducing the distance from 813 km to 389 km and thus total distance will be shortened by 423 km approximately. It would also help in saving fuel and time and avoiding hazardous serpentine hilly roads. These roads would also establish new connectivity to some of tourist destinations like Dodi Taal and Madhya Maheshwar where tourism is yet to pick up.

Experts say that all weather roads are important because recent studies show that extreme rain events are becoming more frequent than moderate rain events which are causing widespread destructions in the Himalayas. “If we go ahead with this plan, it will also help in opening new vistas of developments in tourism, horticulture, agriculture and industry sectors especially in remote areas of Uttarakhand”, said Unniyal. Moreover, the new project will also help in reducing road accidents especially at places like Lambaggar in Chamoli district which are prone to landslides.