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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

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