https://scroll.in/article/1089352/on-the-road-to-chardham-a-landslide-every-two-kilometres
Chardham Pariyojana, a project to widen around 890 km of existing roads in the Garhwal Himalayas to 12-metre double-laned highways. The project, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched in 2016, was supposed to make it easier and quicker for pilgrims to commute to four Hindu shrines in Uttarakhand – Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri. A fifth road that falls under the project connects Tanakpur to Pithoragarh.
But early on, an expert committee had warned that widening roads in the region without adequately protecting slopes ran significant risks. Appointed by the Supreme Court in 2019 in response to a petition filed by an NGO challenging the project, the committee found that out of the 174 slopes that were cut along just one stretch of the project between Tanakpur and Pithoragarh, 102 had become prone to landslides. The committee made recommendations to limit the damage, but these were eventually not accepted.
Now, as the project gathers pace, the consequences are becoming clear. This year, the Chardham yatra was suspended several times during the monsoon because of heavy rains and repeated landslides. Three pilgrims were also killed in a landslide.
09/01/2026