In an untoward incident here in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district, at least seven labourers were killed, three were injured while one is missing after a landslide hit the area near the construction site of Char Dham all-weather road on Friday (December 21).
Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna is a project of central govt. to develop the existing condition of Highways in Uttarakhand. This will develop and upgrade the roads which connect all four ‘Dhams’ i.e Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.This dream project is valued at Rs.12,000 crore that will turm 1100 km of damaged highways of Uttarakhand to all season roads.This has been proposed as a booster to State economy by facilitating religious and recreational tourism.
As per reports, the incident happened in Ukhimath area near Banswada on the Rishikesh-Kedarnath national highway at around 12 pm.
According to the District Magistrate of Rudraprayag, Mangesh Ghildiyal, “the incident occurred during the construction of a retaining wall. A total of 23 labourers were at the site at the time of the incident, 11 of them got buried under the debris while 12 escaped unhurt.”
Out of the 11 buried bodies, 7 have been fetched out of the debris and search operations are on to trace the other missing labourer.
Three injured labourers were also pulled out from the debris. Two of them were critical and forwarded to AIIMS Rishikesh by air.
The Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat consoled the grief stricken. A magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident by the DM as well. Senior state officials are there on the spot and rescue and relief operations underway.
On the other hand the opposition demanded a high-level enquiry into the incident and compensation for the victims’ families. Blaming the
central government for the over-doing construction work in the name of all-weather road, the opposition said this is disturbing natural ecosystems which, in turn, has made the area vulnerable and more prone to landslides.
However landslides triggered by human activities are on the rise around the world and India is among the most-affected countries.
The research said, in India, where 28% landslide events takes place during construction periods and next is China with 9%, then comes Pakistan with 6%, followed by Philippines, Nepal and Malaysia with 5% each.
