Char Dham Highway

Char Dham Expressway National Highway (Hindi: चार धाम महामार्ग), is a proposed two-lane (in each direction) express National Highway with a minimum width of 10 metres in the state of Uttarakhand. The proposed highway will complement the under development Char Dham Railway by connecting the four holy places in Uttarakhand states includes Badrinath, Kedarnath, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Gangotri and Yamunotri The project includes 900 km national highways will connect whole of Uttarakhand state.[2][3]

Char Dham Expressway National Highway
चार धाम महामार्ग
Route information
Maintained by National Highways Authority of India
Length719.0 km (446.8 mi)
Major junctions
North endMana
South endRishikesh
Location
StatesUttarakhand
Major citiesRishikesh, Dharasu, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Rudraprayag, Gaurikund, Kedarnath, Joshimath, Badrinath, Mana[1]
Highway system

Development

The total cost of INR ₹12000 crores and the foundation stone of the project was laid by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 27 December 2016 at Parade Ground in Dehradun. The highway will be called Char Dham Mahamarg (Char Dham Highway) and the highway construction project will be called as Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana (Char Dham Highway Development Project) and is made to improve the connectivity to the Chota Char Dham centered in the Himalayas.[2][3][4][5] Road will include several long bridges and tunnels to eliminate accident and slide prone areas. Indian Railway and National Highways Authority of India have been directed, by the Chief Secretary of India, to ensure that rail and road highway routes are integrated on this circuit.[6]

Route alignment

Originating from Rishikesh, Char Dham highway network will have four distinct routes,[6]

From west to east and south to north:

  • Rishikesh–Yamunotri
    • Rishikesh
    • Dharasu, NH 94, 144 km from Rishikesh
    • Yamunotri, NH 94, 95 km from Dharasu. State buses go up to Hanuman Chatti (14 km from Yamunotri), taxis go all the way to Yamunotri, and lodging is available at dharamshalas and ashrams at Yamunotri.[7]
  • Rishikesh–Gangotri (same route are previous one till Dharasu). This will take the railway and Char Dham road highway at Gangotri close to the large disputed India-China border area of Nelang Valley which is currently in India's operational control.[8][9]
    • Rishikesh
    • Dharasu, NH 94, 144 km from Rishikesh
    • Gangotri, NH 108, 124 km from Dharasu. Road transport goes up to Gangotri, but the actual source of Ganga is at Gomukh glacier which is another 18+ km trail and requires a minimum of two days.[7]
  • Rishikesh–Kedarnath
    • Rishikesh
    • Rudraprayag, NH 58, 140 km from Rishikesh
    • Gaurikund (trek 12.6 km to Kedarnath on foot, by pony or helicopter ride), NH 109, 76 km from Rudraprayag, Road transport goes up to Gaurikund.[7]
  • Rishikesh-Badrinath (same route are previous one till Rudraprayag). This will take the railway and Char Dham road highway at Badrinath closer to the disputed valley on India-China border area of Barahoti which is currently in India's operational control.[9][10]
    • Rishikesh
    • Rudraprayag, NH 58, 140 km from Rishikesh
    • Joshimath
    • Mana (trek to Badrinath), NH 58, 140 km from Rudraprayag, motorable all the way to Badrinath, Tapt Kund ‘hot springs’ is just before the Badrinath Temple.[7]

Facilities

The project will have bypasses, bridges, viaducts, pit stops, parking, helipads and helicopter emergency response services, etc. along the way.[11]

Status updates

See also

References
  1. "Work on KMP Expressway to start soon". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  2. Chardham highway project: PM Modi lays foundation stone in Dehradun
  3. PM to Lay Foundation Stone of ‘Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna’
  4. PM Modi lays foundation stone for 900-km highway network
  5. Uttarakhand: PM Modi to lay foundation stone of Chardham Mahamarg
  6. Safer, smoother, shorter Char Dham Yatra, Times of India, 3-Sept-2014
  7. Char Dham Yatra 2019: How to reach, where to stay and its significance for devotees, financialexpress.com, April 2019.
  8. 采编 (26 November 2005). "中印边境自卫反击作战史". 中国国防资讯网. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2005.
  9. Achilles Heel in India's Border Defence with China!, Indian Defence Review, 20 June 2017.
  10. After 24 years of work, strategic military outpost near India-China border connected with motorable road, Times of India, 11 Nov 2016.
  11. "PM Modi lays foundation for Rs 12,000-crore Char Dham highway project, Economic Times, 27-Dec-2016". Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  12. Centre's 'Chardham' highway project under NGT scanner, Economic Times, 4-May-2017
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