Every year there are multiple fatalities due to road accidents or landslides, prompting the need to have better and safer road connectivity.
From next month, work will commence to create new 'disaster free' national highways to connect four pilgrimage centres or 'Char Dhaam' in Uttarakhand — Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.
Prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to perform the bhoomipujan next month in Haridwar to have close to 900km-long new two-lane highway. As per the earlier plans, the bhoomipujan was to be conducted by Modi on the eve of Dussehra, but it was rescheduled.
"It has an estimated cost of around Rs 11,000 crore and will be accident- or landslide-free. It will be ready in three years," minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari announced earlier this week.
Every year there are multiple fatalities due to road accidents or landslides, prompting the need to have better and safer road connectivity. Even during the monsoon and flash floods, roads repeatedly get damaged. The project for creating 889km has been in the pipeline with the MoRTH for over a year now.
While detailing about safety measures for pedestrians or villagers on national highways, Gadkari informed that a paver shoulder will be made on the sides of the national highways and there will be a separate lane for bicycles too. This design will be included to ensure safety of villagers as well as pilgrims who walk to their respective destinations.
Due to lack of this provision, there have been thousands of deaths of villagers, specifically after sunset, on the highways as they have no other option but to either walk on the side patch of the highways or bicycle.
These pedestrian-friendly features will be incorporated on the national highways that are being made of cement concrete. However, the same provisions or features will not be included on the express highways as they need to be free from pedestrians or cyclists.
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