Plan afoot to make Tanakpur-Pithoragarh national highway landslide free
Plan afoot to make Tanakpur-Pithoragarh national highway landslide free
B.D. Kasniyal
Pithoragarh, March 23
To make Tanakpur to Pithoragarh all weather road free from frequent landslides, the Union Ministry of Roads and Transport, has approved a sum of Rs. 318 crores to treat the 60 landslide sensitive points on this 150 km National Highway 9.
“The sanction has been given in four parts. Initially, 49 landslide sensitive spots on this strategically significant road will be treated to make these landslide free in monsoon months, so that the highway could remain opened all over the year,” said Sunil Kumar, Executive Engineer of NH 9.
According to the NH officer, the sanction has been given after the Tehri Hydro-electric Development Corporation (THDC), an expert agency in this matter, surveyed these sensitive spots and submitted it’s report to the Government of India.
” The ministry has appointed THDC as a supervisor consultant for the work and NH will work under the expert advise of THDC,” said the NH engineer.
The Tanakpur to Pithoragarh all weather road sanctioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2016, is a part of over Rs.11000 crore, “Chardham” All weather road project.
“We will have to complete the work in 18 months time, once the contracts are given, the process of tendering is to start soon,” said the engineer.
Sunil Kumar said that,THDC is an expert agency in landslides treatment and it has successfully stabilised the landslide sensitive regions of Vaishno Devi, Amarnath and Kailash Mansarovar routes.
“We think, the National Highway will become free from frequent landslides after the points are treated under expert advise,” said NH engineer.
The people plying on the road from Pithoragarh or from Champawat towards Tanakpur or vice versa, have said that the road remained closed due to sudden landslides at 20 times after it was commissioned in the year 2020.
” Besides several landslides, sensitive points on this 150 km long road, the points of Delhi bend, Chupkot in Pithoragarh part and Swala, Chalthi and Dhaun points in Champawat district remained mostly affected by landslides in monsoon ,” said Bhakta Darshan Pandey, a social worker in Ppithoragarh who travels frequently by this road.
