Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officials have assured trouble-free Char Dham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand this season. In a meeting on Saturday, DG lt Gen AT Parnaik ascertained Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Oscar Fernandes and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat that all roads leading to the pilgrimages would be operable by April 2014.
BRO has set itself April 30 deadline for completing road repair work in the higher terrains of Uttarakhand, which was ravaged by flash floods and torrential rain in June, last year.
The BRO has been entrusted with the task of repair and reconstruction of damaged roads leading to the famous Himalayan shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri. last December, reconstruction work in the region had come to a standstill. The BRO had blamed bad weather and shortage of funds, manpower and machinery as reasons for delay in repair work.
In a fresh bid to the Government, the BRO has sought more funds, manpower, machinery and material from the Government to help it achieve its target.
“The BRO has been asked to submit its requirements to the State Government by February 15. The State in-turns, if it deems necessary will further forward a formal request to the centre, if it fails to give funds from its own resources,” said an official from the Ministry of Roads.
The BRO has also been asked to identify road stretches close to rivers which are vulnerable to erosion and submit a list in this regard to the State Government for taking of corrective measures. Rawat assured the BRO that mobile vans, water tanks and food subsidy will be provided to its personnel who are engaged in road repair work. Stone crushers and other building material will also be provided, he added. Fernandes said that the entire amount sanctioned to the BRO for restoring the road network would be released soon and assured that there will be no dearth of funds for the work.
large stretches of roads in Uttarakhand suffered extensive damage in the mid-June flash floods in the State last year.