A Himalayan price is being paid for govt bid to build Chardham Highway

While the Uttarakhand government is keen to encourage tourists, it needs to figure out how many people the hills can withstand at once

The Chardham yatra to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath is considered one of the holiest pilgrimages for Hindus. However, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has gone about improving their connectivity in an ungodly manner.

The MoRTH has come up with an ambitious project to build a two-lane express highway connecting these four dhams. Work on this extended 900-km project, which passes through 529 landslide-prone areas, has proceeded without the mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The MoRTH has also not thought it necessary to conduct any detailed cumulative assessment of this ecologically sensitive region, which falls within the catchment area