Nod to tunnel for all-weather connectivity to Yamunotri

Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20

The Rs 1,384-crore tunnel project has been approved in Uttarakhand as part of the ‘Char Dham’ project to connect Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri. The tunnel will reduce the travel distance from Dharasu to Yamunotri by about 20 km and travel time by about an hour.

The decision about the tunnel project was taken at a CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here. “The CCEA...has given approval to the construction of 4.5 km long 2-lane bi-directional Silkyara Bend - Barkot Tunnel with escape passage, including approaches on Dharasu -Yamunotri section between Chainage 25.4 km and Chainage 51 km in Uttarakhand,” Road, Transport and Highways Ministry said in a statement. The project will fall along NH-134 (old NH-94) in Uttarakhand. It will be built under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Mode. This is funded under NH (O) Scheme of Road Transport and Highways Ministry.

To be completed in  four years the civil construction cost of the project is estimated at about Rs 1,120 crore, while the total project cost is approximately Rs 1,384 crore, inclusive of the cost towards land acquisition, rehabilitation, maintenance and the operation cost of the tunnel for four years.       

The proposed tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to Yamunotri - one of the dhams on “Char Dham Yatra”. When completed it is expected to boost regional socio-economic development, trade and tourism within the country. Another highlight of the project is that it will save felling of trees which would have been necessitated in the road improvement of 25.6 km had the original alignment been pursued. The project will be implemented by the Ministry through National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.