The stretch of the Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway (NH 58) at lambagad has been damaged since 1997. The extent of damage to the national highway here has reached alarming proportions but the State Government has continued to ignore this and the Badrinath area, alleged Aapda Sangharsh Samiti Badrinath (ASSB) head Dr Jamna Prasad Revani while talking to the media on Sunday.
According to Revani, due to the havoc wreaked by the June 2013 disaster those living in Badrinath have been struggling to make ends meet. “Till date the State Government has not addressed the problems of the locals in Badrinath. The June 2013 disaster had damaged the stretch of the highway from lambagad to Benakuli but has not been repaired satisfactorily yet. We blame both the State Government and the Border Roads Organisation for this. The work on this road should be handed over to some other agency if the BRO is unable to do it. We welcome the steps taken by the Government for reconstruction and rehabilitation in the disaster affected Kedarnath valley but simply focusing on this area is not enough,” he said.
Vice chairman of the ASSB, Vishveshwar Prasad Naithani said that the disaster affected people of Badrinath were hoping that the Chief Minister would visit them and attempt to ensure the redressal of problems being faced by the locals. However, the CM, MlA and MP have continued to remain apathetic towards the problems being faced in Badrinath,” he added.
The ASSB has demanded that the road construction work be undertaken on war footing and that the work be handed over to another agency if the BRO is unable to complete it. They have demanded permanent work on the road so that the pilgrimage to Badrinath in 2015 is facilitated without problems. The ASSB has been staging relay protest in Badrinath in support of its demand and will continue the protest escalating it to fast unto death and even self immolation if the work is not started without delay. Two members of the body will remain in Badrinath after the portals of the shrine are closed for the winter and the administration will be responsible for the fate of these two protesters. Accusing the local MlA and MP of ignoring Badrinath, the protesters has warned them of opposition.