The events leading to the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse remain unclear for now, but some experts have decried what they have called “myopic” and “unscientific” development activities that disregarded the Himalayan landscape’s fragility and carrying capacity. Saini said in a commentary in Current Science, a journal published by the Indian Academy of Sciences. “Nobody is suggesting that roads and other projects shouldn’t be taken up in the Himalayas,” Pant, a former professor of geology at the University of Delhi, told The Telegraph. “Projects in high mountains need to be analysed with respect to their potential exposure to landslides, avalanches and glacial lake outburst floods,” Sattar said. But, as the HPC had flagged in its report, the government had split the 889km Char Dham road-widening project into 53 projects.

Source: The Telegraph November 27, 2023 03:50 UTC