Former Minister Karan Singh decries road construction in Himalayas destroying fragile ecology

STC NEWS DESK
JAMMU, MARCH 13 (STC):
Large-scale road construction in the Himalayan region is damaging the fragile mountain ecosystem, said former Union Minister Karan Singh today. He has warned that the consequences of such development would be felt in the coming years.
Speaking at a programme in Jammu, Karan Singh said the construction of four-lane and six-lane highways in the Himalayas was inappropriate for the region’s terrain.
“The roads they are building in the Himalayas, these four lanes and six lanes, are completely wrong. They have destroyed the Himalayas,” he said.
He disclosed that he had written to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, asking that road construction in mountainous areas be approached differently from projects in the plains.
He said, “The way roads are being built in the plains is good, but measuring the Himalayas with the same yardstick will destroy the mountains.”
He said the impact of large-scale construction was already being witnessed in Himalayan states.
“We will have to bear the consequences of this development. We are already seeing it. Look at what happened this year in Jammu and in Himachal Pradesh,” he said, referring to recent incidents linked to extreme weather and landslides in the region.
The former minister also expressed concern over increasing tourism-related construction in the Himalayan region, warning that unchecked development could damage the ecological balance of the mountains.
He said development policies should take into account the environmental sensitivity of the Himalayas and the cultural and religious significance associated with the region.

(Straight Talk Communications)