Altaf Hamid Rao.
MIRPUR ( AJK) (Parliament Times): Dr. Karan Singh, the only son of last pre-1947 despotic dogra ruler of the Himalayan State of Jammu Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh, on Friday said large-scale road construction in the Himalayan region was damaging the fragile mountain ecosystem and warned that the consequences of such development would be felt in the coming years, says a report reaching here Friday from across the line of control.
Speaking at a programme in occupiedJammu late Friday, Singh said the construction of four-lane and six-lane highways in the Himalayas was inappropriate for the region’s terrain.
“The roads they are building in the Himalayas, these four lanes and six lanes, are completely wrong. They have destroyed the Himalayas,” he observed.
Singh said he had written to the Road Transport and Highways authorities asking that road construction in mountainous areas be approached differently from projects in the plains.
He said Gadkari had constructed roads in the plains but warned that similar standards should not be applied in the Himalayan region.
“The way roads are being built in the plains should not be measured in the Himalayas with the same yardstick will destroy the mountains,” Singh said.
“We will have to bear the consequences of this socalled development. We are already seeing it. Look at what happened this year in Jammu” he said, referring to recent incidents linked to extreme weather and landslides in the region, the report said
Singh said there was a need for clear government guidelines on road construction in mountainous areas and suggested that roads in such terrain should not exceed two lanes.
“There is no need for four lanes in the mountains. Two-lane roads are sufficient for tourists and travellers,” he said.
Sindh, also a former minister also expressed concern over the socalled tourism-related construction in the Himalayan region, warning that unchecked development could damage the ecological balance of the mountains.
He said socalled development policies should take into account the environmental sensitivity of the Himalayas and the cultural and religious significance associated with the disputed Himalayan region, according to the report.
Singh added that the Himalayan ecosystem was fragile and required careful planning to ensure that infrastructure projects do not lead to long-term damage, the report added. Ends