About a month has passed since the start of the Char Dham Yatra but the authorities have done little to improve the condition of the Gangotri national highway. The damaged condition of this highway is believed to have claimed the lives of 200 people in various road accidents in the past 20 years but the Government appears to be apathetic to this.
The disaster and rains experienced in June last year had activated many danger zones on this highway but these have not been repaired so far by the authorities. Though there are dozens of danger points on the highway, Dabrani and Nalupani are more sensitive and pose greater danger to the road users.
Following rains on Tuesday, the highway was blocked for about three hours at Tambakhani. With sporadic rainfall being experienced in the region and the monsoon not far away, travelers on this highway have once again started facing dangers and experiencing inconvenience while travelling on the Gangotri national highway.
In the past 20 years, the biggest mishap occurred in September 1995, when 70 people had died after an overloaded bus fell into the Bhagirathi river near Dabrani. In September 2003, four people were killed in a car accident at Nalupani; 22 died in a bus accident at Nalupani in 2006; 13 died in a bus accident at Nakuri in 2008; 14 died in 2008 when a bus fell into a gorge near Sukki Top; 40 died when a bus fell off the road in 2009 between Bhatwadi and Gangnani; 12 died in the same year when the taxi they were in fell off the road near Nalupani; five died in a car accident near Gangnani in 2010; 24 died in a truck accident near Dabrani in 2010 and six died in a car accident in the same year near Netala.