A stretch of the Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway near lambagad subsided on Wednesday due to a combination of rain and work being undertaken by the Border Roads Organisation below this stretch of the highway. The route was reopened for traffic on Thursday by the BRO, but locals point out that they expect recurring disruptions in traffic until permanent road works are done on this highway.
The BRO is currently working on constructing the stretch of the highway where a nullah crosses the road near lambagad. It was this stretch that caved in on Wednesday, disrupting the flow of traffic to Badrinath. Those travelling to Badrinath did face some inconvenience on Wednesday, but the BRO managed to reopen the road on Thursday.
During the disaster experienced in Uttarakhand during June last year, a four kilometres long stretch of the Badrinath highway between lambagad and Benakuli was destroyed. The BRO had constructed a temporary road and reopened the highway for traffic about three months after the stretch was destroyed.
About a year after disaster struck, this national highway is still in need of considerable work in the mountainous region. On Wednesday, the BRO was working on the stretch of the highway where the nullah crosses the road near lambagad which resulted in the road caving in.
The authorities have not yet installed a pipe to facilitate flowing of the water in a manner that does not affect the road.
Due to this, water from the nullah flows across the highway with the volume of water depending on the rainfall. locals state that road subsidence and other problems that disrupt traffic are bound to happen in this area until permanent road works are completed by the BRO on the stretch from lambagad to Benakuli.
It should be noted here that though the State Government has been stressing that ensuring a safe and convenient pilgrimage to the Char Dham shrines is among its top priorities, the locals point out that mismanagement and inadequate preparations by the authorities have resulted in comparatively lesser numbers of pilgrim and tourist footfalls in the mountainous regions this year as compared to past years.