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Helang-Marwari bypass project stuck in a limbo awaits IIT report
The concerned authorities are still waiting for the report of the IIT Roorkee to decide if the re-beginning of work would aggravate the land crisis problem.
The construction of Helang-Marwari bypass under the Char Dham all-weather project, which was suspended by Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district administration in January first week, following the aggravation of Joshimath land crisis, continues to remain in a limbo for nearly three months. The concerned authorities are still waiting for the report of the IIT Roorkee to decide if the re-beginning of work would aggravate the land crisis problem.
The work on the bypass and other construction activities were halted by the district administration on January 5 after protests by local residents. Under the Centre’s ₹12,000 crore Char Dham roads project, the Helang-Marwari bypass, which is being built some 13km from Joshimath at its foothill, aims to shorten the distance to the Badrinath shrine by 30km.
Confirming the development, additional secretary, disaster management, Anand Srivastava said, “We are waiting for the expert report on the Helang-Marwari bypass from IIT Roorkee, which will make it clear whether the commencement of bypass construction work will affect the land submergence-affected area in Joshimath.”
He added, “Though IIT Roorkee had recently submitted a report, it has been asked to submit the report again since it wasn’t satisfactory.”
Talking about the financial losses suffered due to the work being halted, Major Aaina Rana, commanding officer of the 75 Road Construction Company (RCC) Border Road Organisation said they have suffered a loss of around ₹10 crore due to the suspension of the work.
She said, “We will re-begin the construction of the bypass only on the orders of the district administration.”
She said the work of cutting about two kilometres of rock from Helang and half a kilometre from Marwari end has been completed.
Meanwhile, experts and town residents have attributed the crisis to the damage caused to the underground water strata from power utility National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)’s tunnelling work for a hydropower project, unplanned development, and the use of heavy machinery for construction of the Helang-Marwari bypass as part of the Char Dham roads project.
Atul Sati, convener of Joshimath Sangharsh Samiti, said, “If the work of the Helang-Marwari bypass would be started again, it will aggravate the Joshimath land subsidence problem. We have been of the view that cutting of rock and use of blasting for this road project would destabilize the slope.”
Hemant Dhyani, an environmental activist and former member of the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee on the Char Dham Project, said, “We had recommended the Helang-Marwari bypass to reduce the burden of floating population on the Joshimath slope with some conditions like a geological survey of the proposed project and minimum width of the road that requires less cutting of the rock.”
“I don’t know if our recommendations were followed or not. If not, it would further destabilise the slope and add to the land subsidence problem in Joshimath,” he claimed.
The foundation stone for Chardham all weather road project was laid in December 2016 to provide all-weather connectivity to four major Hindu shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri located in the upper Himalayas of Uttarakhand.
