Surveyors, Geologists & Environmentalists Wanted

By Rajendra Rawat
I hope all readers of Garhwal Post read what Dr Nitin Panday writes. I for one do so with great pleasure. Why? He opens up interesting dimensions on raging issues. For instance, in one of his articles he revealed that not all capitals of some countries or states were chosen after deliberations on technical matters. I was astonished to read that some were chosen on sentimental grounds while some by simple application of rudimentary geometry! In no way is it being suggested that the same be applied for Uttarakhand. I fully endorse his view that appropriate technical expertise be part of development projects. Now he writes about roads of Uttarakhand. Dr Panday says, “Geologists must compulsorily be hired by the Contractor for the entire project”. Roads, in the hill region of Uttarakhand will continue to be white elephants for the State as they will cry for heavy & perpetual maintenance, while the beneficiaries will be laughing all the way to their banks unless Geologists are incorporated – at least in the planning stage. One who has not ventured often into Uttarakhand’s interior may not appreciate this suggestion – neither will the Contractors & those in cahoots with them.
Contractor Accountability is not a new concept. A system of Third Party Inspection, too, is followed. Currently National Highways under construction & externally aided roads opt for this. Seeing the quality of work executed on Uttarakhand roads, coupled with lack of accountability, it may be prudent to introduce this concept. Of course, every service comes with a price tag. Every penny spent will be worth it. Let’s pioneer this change in our fledgling state. Let Uttarakhand be the second state to plan introduction of Mobile Testing Vans after Bihar. If the latter option is prohibitive, let us devise effective means to ensure Contractor Accountability.
Take a trip to Deoprayag, especially in your own car. Shortly after passing Rishikesh you will travel agonizingly unto Shivpuri & Kudiyala. Why should you care? It’s because we, the citizens of Uttarakhand, are beckoning tourists, Indian & foreigners to (please) visit the Land of Gods. The road is being widened. That’s good news. The hillside is prone to landslides every monsoon. That’s bad news. I have seen this stretch since1965. The hillside consists of loose rocks & boulders bound together by the vegetation now scarce. Dozers & explosives had speeded up the construction but, as Dr Panday writes, explosives have shaken up the fragile system that prevented landslides, soil erosion & consequently floods in the riparian region. Often trees, unable to hold their majestic height, weight & canopy come crashing down, blocking the narrow road for hours, frustrating the erstwhile exuberant tourists. Yes, if geologists were an important part of the project, the roads would have been several shades better, albeit more expensive. Does anyone care? If it was mandatory for the Contractor to maintain the road, at his own expense, for at least 5 years, (as suggested by Dr Pandey) due care would have been exercised at the very construction stage.
Go past Karanprayag en route to Gwaldam. Take care if you are travelling during the Monsoon. The entire hillside at one place is slipping – like Varunavat. Here in the 60s, my father had a providential escape. He crossed a stretch of this road just in time to look back & see that the entire road behind him had sunk up to the Pindar River! While driving, you will appreciate the unstable nature of this stretch of hillside. Have a good look at it. Could such an alignment be avoided? In one case it could not be avoided. That is the road short of Kohima, capital of Nagaland. Why? The Japanese advance had to be rolled back. The last battle was fought at the Tennis Court. There was overwhelming military expediency. The planners & builders of Uttarakhand roads faced no such expediency.
I have met a few geologists & surveyors here. Surely there are more & maybe far more eminent, present in Uttarakhand. Their experience ought to be utilised in the planning & execution of large projects in the hills. The present Chief Minister is himself an engineer of vast experience. Of course he cannot bear the yoke himself. He must seek these experts and in turn they must rise to offer their assistance. Roads must be built on sound geological survey, and not based on factors like sentiments and political appeasement of say village Rikholi, because they voted for X party, & not Kundil because they voted for Y party. Unfortunately such factors often clinch the issue. After all, the local MLA deems himself fit to over-rule any kind of geological or geomorphologic hindrance!
There are many more examples where development challenged nature only to be humiliated. There is an odd good example, too. I remember Brother Gannon of St George’s Mussoorie ( now quite blind & in his 90s) telling me that the Engineer in charge of the present Doon – Mussoorie road came up to the site of work every single day of the calendar to oversee the trace cutting & subsequent work. He was all praise for that man’s work & even said that he did not recall a single day when the traffic was held up on account of landslides or sinking of roads. This masterpiece continues to delight us even today. When you drive on this road, do thank that man for his work. Also thank late Darshan Lal who, with his own funds constructed one mile of road up to Kincraig. (No thanks to those responsible for limestone quarrying since the early 50s. If they were not reigned in, probably Library would have slipped down to Kincraig. Someone made a killing in the quarrying, while much later the TA Battalion laboured hard to restore the hillside and probably the Government paid far more in terms of financing the battalion. Does it make any sense? X exploits, Y is employed and labours while Z pays out of tax payers’ coffers.
Dr Satendra’s book, “Disaster Management in The Hills” should be the Bible for all planning of major projects in Uttarakhand. In brief, he highlights how Development can lead to Destruction if planning does not heed to the geological and geomorphologic factors and preservation of ecological environment. (“Development & vulnerability are inextricably linked” he writes). Catering to preservation of our ecological environment is as vital as the other two factors. A small illustration will highlight the pitfalls in its neglect.
Most of us have been to Dhanaulti. I have been going there since the 60s. It has majestic Deodar trees nestling the steep northern slopes. At Dhanaulti, there are green meadows, not too large but adequate to invite you to spread your mat for a picnic, or pitch a small tent for camping. All that still exists but today, the meadows are littered with polythene and other non-biodegradable trash. The stench of “mule dooly” welcomes you. In the heart of the small market, a desire to have a refreshing cup of tea is rewarded with dish water adequately sweetened. Perched on a roof top your panoramic view of the tree tops must be restricted lest it trespass the modesty of genteel ladies making their way downhill to the best cover available to ease themselves.(Men not mentioned – no modesty). The resultant stench is a combination of “mule & human dooly”. Five to ten years down the line you may not want to enter Dhanaulti at all. Perhaps, this is what Dr Pandey meant when he wrote that disaster can strike if development is not accompanied by protection of environment.
I would like to go further to say that environmental protection must precede development. The Uttarakhand Tourism Ministry may or may not have added to their bottom line through tourism. The cost of cleaning up Dhanaulti will empty their coffers. They will be solely responsible for the environmental degradation. Where is the garbage of its hotels and that of all private hotels and shops being disposed? Obviously behind the plush façade of buildings for the “Maha Nature Nigam” karamcharis, i.e. wind, rain and gravity to take it all out of sight. Mussoorie and all hill stations and tourist spots are facing such devastating onslaught of man’s indiscretion. As regards attitude by citizens of Doon as to where their household garbage is going and its efficient disposal (if any), adequacy or inadequacy of trenching grounds, the less said the better. We all have witnessed it when we visit Paltan Bazaar early enough in the day. Garbage is swept by shopkeepers up to the centre of the road from either side. What happens next is not their concern. Plying two wheelers whip up the dirt and dust while some shoppers lick their ice cream cones at the road side. This is exactly what is happening in Doon on a larger scale. (At some propitious time I will describe to you what lies in the compound of late Advocate Raneshwar Singh, brother of Hollywood villain KN Singh, who was chased up the Howrah Bridge by Dev Anand in the movie, merely 600 to 800 yards from the MNA office.)
Coming back to the subject of roads, Dr Satendra states that 60,000 cubic meters of soil is displaced for every kilometer of road. That would amount to a cube approximately 40x 40x40 meters. Debris removal of 16,654 kms of roads of Uttarakhand is mind boggling. This is not all. After all this debris is removed, which is unavoidable, it is the undesired soil erosion due to landslides that may be accounting for similar quantity of loss of soil/land. Proper technical advice by surveyors and geologists will mitigate the loss of valuable topsoil and vegetation, as also it will minimise the cost of avoidable maintenance and disruption of traffic. One does see some effort to arrest land slippage and tumbling rocks. Mere plantation of Agaves on the roadside or upper slopes is not adequate. Much more needs to be done to mitigate varied forms of destruction that follows road construction in the terrain obtaining in Uttarakhand.
There are many breathtaking locations crowning the very top of the otherwise barren hillsides, as yet not popularly known and exploited. I visited one such location recently. Amongst majestic deodars we lunched alone, in peace that one craves for in the city. We collected all our garbage and brought it home for disposal. This will be a rule with us rather than an exception. However, while driving down from Mussoorie we were enraged to see a speeding DLC Tata Indica car occupants, young lads, flinging two empty Bisleri bottles on the “Jalebi Bends”, below the old Toll Barrier! Mercifully, we didn’t catch up with them as we were aware of road rage consequences and the speed with which lethal weapons are whipped out and used with impunity by affluent occupants of such registered vehicles.
Should one disclose these untouched locations to the Airlines’ magazines & later see them listed in the itinerary of Tourism which has become a synonym for degradation of environment? Let these pristine and sublime locales enjoy their freedom as long as they can, OR till we humans can evolve a harmonious balance between man and nature.
Is one asking for too much? Don’t go too far to seek models to emulate. Just visit Himachal Pradesh to see how the locals and Administration can create paradise you would like to visit again and again. As a parting shot I would like to mention that there is a tourist spot Matheran, in Maharashtra where one has to walk; where no automobiles of any sort are allowed; where there is no garbage. One cannot help quoting another example from the same state. With the attitudinal change, the locals have converted a littered place into a clean one. Perhaps our hill stations are demanding this change in attitude from us - a similar change for the good. Perhaps other spots planned to be developed by Uttarakhand Tourism need to keep automobiles well away from the naturally beautiful spots. Why not start from Mussoorie. Stop vehicular traffic on the Mussoorie Mall.