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Quest for Disaster-Resilient Roads in The Himalaya


Affiliations
1 Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
2 Department of Basic and Social Science, College of Forestry, Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal (VCSGUUHF, Bharsar), India
3 Department of Geology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal 246 174, India
4 School of Media and Communication Studies, Doon University, Dehradun 248 001, India
 

Mountain roads are important lifelines and the most critical means for connectivity in the Himalayan villages of India. However, the inherent geological, geomorphological, ecological and climate fragility of the terrain warrants critical scientific investigations for the roads to sustain the vagaries of nature. Further, the increased frequency of extreme events with the ongoing climate change increases the potential impact of disasters. This note highlights the major challenges and issues faced with the ongoing road-widening projects in the country. It cautions against the uniform standard of road widening and the need to increase sensitivity towards appreciating the terrain fragility.
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  • Quest for Disaster-Resilient Roads in The Himalaya

Abstract Views: 321  |  PDF Views: 140

Authors

Shubhra Sharma
Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
S. P. Sati
Department of Basic and Social Science, College of Forestry, Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal (VCSGUUHF, Bharsar), India
Y. P. Sundriyal
Department of Geology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal 246 174, India
Vikram Sharma
Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
Harsh Dobhal
School of Media and Communication Studies, Doon University, Dehradun 248 001, India

Abstract


Mountain roads are important lifelines and the most critical means for connectivity in the Himalayan villages of India. However, the inherent geological, geomorphological, ecological and climate fragility of the terrain warrants critical scientific investigations for the roads to sustain the vagaries of nature. Further, the increased frequency of extreme events with the ongoing climate change increases the potential impact of disasters. This note highlights the major challenges and issues faced with the ongoing road-widening projects in the country. It cautions against the uniform standard of road widening and the need to increase sensitivity towards appreciating the terrain fragility.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv121%2Fi11%2F1399-1401