New Delhi (NVI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today inaugurated a new 80-km road from Dharchula in Uttarakhand to Lipulekh (China Border), that will significantly curtail Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage time from 2-3 weeks earlier to 1 week.
On the occasion, the Defence Minister also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji through video conferencing, the Ministry of Defence said.
Rajnath expressed confidence that local trade and economic growth in the region would receive a boost with the operationalisation of this roadway.
The road originates from Ghatiabagarh and terminates at Lipulekh Pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar. In this 80 kilometer road, the altitude rises from 6,000 to 17,060 feet.
With the completion of this project, the arduous trek through treacherous high-altitude terrain can now be avoided by the pilgrims of Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra, MoD said in a statement. “At present, the travel to Kailash-Mansarovar takes around two to three weeks through Sikkim or Nepal routes. Lipulekh route had a trek of 90 Km through high altitude terrain and the elderly yatris faced lot of difficulties,” MoD said in a statement.
The other two road ways via Sikkim and Nepal are along. They entailed approximately 20 per cent land journeys on Indian roads and 80 per cent land journeys in China. With the opening of Ghatiabgarh-Lipulekh road, this ratio has been reversed. Now Pilgrims to Manasarovar will traverse 84 per cent land journeys on Indian Roads and only 16 per cent land Journeys in China.
While congratulating the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) engineers and personnel on the occasion, the Defence Minister also mourned the loss of lives during the construction of this road.
According to Director General of BRO Lt Gen Harpal Singh, the construction of this road was hampered due to multiple problems. Constant snowfall, steep rise in altitude and extremely low temperatures restricted the working season to five months. Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra took place in the working season from June to October and it coincided with move of locals and their logistics as well as movement of traders (for trade with China) thus further reducing the daily hours for construction, the Ministry said.
Apart from this, there were numerous flash floods and cloud bursts over last few years which led to extensive damages, MoD said. “In the initial 20 kilometers, the mountains have hard rock and are near vertical due to which BRO has lost many lives and 25 equipment were also badly damaged due to falling into Kali River. Despite all odds, in last two years, BRO could increase its output by 20 times by creating multiple working points and inducting modern technology equipment. Helicopters were also extensively used to induct hundreds of tons of stores/equipment into this sector,” it added.
Also present on the occasion were Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M M Naravane, Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Almora (Uttarakhand) Ajay Tamta and senior officials of Ministry of Defence and BRO.
