Uttarakhand’s 75 bridges unsafe and unabated illegal mining the greatest hazard !
Have you ever heard that the bridges constructed with crores of rupees of public exchequer collapse just like pack of cards during rains, built just few years ago.
An iron bridge built by Britishers more than hundred years ago having completed its maximum limited over gushing Yamuna, Delhi that has witnessed several dangerous floods is stationed “Rock” solid even today but unfortunately in Uttarakhand which is just 22 years old – several huge and small bridges built by Public Works Department and other authorities have come down during rains, even in areas like Kotdwar plains where there wasn’t any landslide, the biggest example is of the Milan bridge of Kotdwar, built just 13 years ago taking few lives as well. This huge bridge built with an investment of crores of rupees fell down , not able to bear the gushing over- flooding river during monsoon and fell down in the month of July 2023.
In Uttarakhand usually during raining seasons due to excessive rains while highways are blocked in various districts due to massive landslides , several bridges go down and houses and hotels including shops and commercial buildings build near the banks of rivers despite constant warnings go down like the pack of cards as water released from various dams and excessive rains erode them from the bottom of the base lifting the grounded pillars etc.
This is a constant story of Himachal Pradesh as well as Uttarakhand where such flash floods do occur due to cloud bursts, over flooding of rivers and releasing of accumulated water by various, dams claiming several lives.
The Joshimath situation is in front of everyone where subsidence and big holes appear even today leading to people going elsewhere to seek shelter.
Over one thousand families have been displaced there and about 900 houses developed cracks with more cracks appearing including a big crack in Joshimath Auli road with monsoon aggravating to their ongoing problems by subsidence enhancing.
According to a news report, fresh cracks and subsidence have been reported in Joshimath town especially at Singdhar ward and Joshimath – Auli Road.
Confirming the new cracks and subsidence the Joshimath district majistrate Mr. Khurana on the request of Atul Sati and others has sought a fresh geological investigation of these new big holes and cracks.
Meanwhile the founder of SDC foundation Anoop Nautiyal has , while expressing his serious concern and worries about the large scale falling of bridges due to their weak upkeep and maintenance said that unfortunately unabated illegal or legal mining on massive scale is also responsible for the fall of the bridges during monsoon season.
In a tweet he wrote with a heavy heart :
Resilience should become defining ethic of # Uttarakhand. PWD latest safety audit reports 75 unsafe bridges in state. In comparison, in November, 2022 there were 30 unsafe bridges. Unsafe bridges have doubled. Unabated mining is, further damaging bridges. Major need for caution tweeted Anoop Nautiyal of SDC foundation.
Nautiyal is of a strong and categorical view n opinion that the central as well as the Uttarakhand governments need to relook and revise the entire infra development model carefully. We are moving on the path of self destruction in the Himalayan states of the country.
Government’s, people’s and businessmen’s greed is infinite which is catastrophic and a zero sum game said Nautiyal.
The government should still learn lessons from the past disasters especially the flash floods of 2013 June, the 1986 Uttar Kashi earthquake, Rishi n Dhauli Ganga disasters leading to thousands of deaths altogether and compelling people of Gaura Devi village Reiny leave it in desperation after its subsidence, not worth living, posing direct threat to their lives.
