Sign In
Learn bits
Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

27/11/23 07:22 AM IST

Moulding the Himalayas needs caution

In News
  • As the efforts to evacuate 41 workers trapped in a tunnel near Silkyara in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand are weeks away from fruition, the infrastructure development trajectory in the Himalayas comes under serious clouds — once again
Major issues
  • The foremost one is about the development model itself and, in concrete terms, what should be the carrying capacity of the IHR.
  • Also important are the processes in which environment clearances were sought, undermining safety protocols, and a new form of architecture that should be built to construct and monitor infrastructure projects, if at all they are desired, in the region.
  • The irony is that the flash floods of 2013 in Uttarakhand are suggested as the reason for the construction of the Char Dham Yatra.
  • One of the major problems in this project is in accepting the fact that the Himalayas are the youngest range of mountains and are still in the formative stages.
  • Geological and geotechnical studies make the point clear that this is a dangerous project and fatality-induced.
  • The Main Central Thrust of the Himalayas passes a few kilometres north of the incident site, scientists have pointed out in the past as well.
  • This means that this area is extremely sensitive to earthquakes and frictional shear rocks are present as well. Constructing in this zone is dangerous.
Carrying capacity of Himalayas
  • The Supreme Court of India has already seized on the matter on the issue of carrying capacity in the Himalayas.
  • The carrying capacity cannot just be limited to the number of people an ecosystem can sustain; it also has to take into cognisance the total carrying capacity of the IHR from the infrastructure aspect.
  • How many hydropower projects can the region sustain? How much tourism? How many roads?
  • How much widening of the roads should be allowed? How much cutting of the mountains and dumping of the debris in the water ecosystem is good?
Safety protocols
  • In this scenario, there is also an exception and that is in the construction of the Atal tunnel in the Kullu, and Lahaul & Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh.
  • The executing company was so particular in implementing safety measures that not a single casualty has been reported in its construction.
  • They would not allow the workers to enter the tunnel unless all the protocols were followed and checked
  • Likewise, international protocols and monitoring processes for tunnelling that are efficient should be adopted.
  • A new legislative architecture — that allows people to monitor these projects and ensures that geological experts are part of every move — is required.
  • The local communities who have lived in the mountains should be an essential part of these monitoring structures with strict protocols. Likewise, civil society groups and community-driven organisations should be made part of the monitoring exercise.
  • As far as the Himalayas are concerned, the NHAI must realise that they are making roads on soil and mountains and not on drawing boards in their offices.
  • While they have accepted that they are learning from their failures, this should not have happened in the first place.
  • The BRO and even the PMGSY have a better protocol of construction, where a certain period is llowed for stability.
Source- The Hindu

More Related Current Affairs View All

24 Sep

Leveraging transit-oriented development to build productive cities

'Indian cities are on the brink of a transportation revolution, with a projected expenditure of ?3 trillion (between 2022–2027) set to be spent on approved metro rail project

Read More

24 Sep

Section 107 of BNSS

'The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, introduced Section 107, which deals with properties which are “proceeds of crime”.' Until recently, this term w

Read More

24 Sep

Supreme Court strengthened child pornography law

'Tightening the law on child pornography, the Supreme Court recently said that even viewing, possessing, and not reporting such content is punishable under the Protection of Childr

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps