Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat stressed that from the strategic point of view, limiting the width of the all-weather Char Dham road to 5.5 metres will not do. He said, “Apart from facilitating all-weather connectivity to the Char Dham shrines, this road is also vital from the strategic point of view. Considering this, 5.5 metre width of the road will not do. We have expressed our concern to the centre and will request the centre to take a decision accordingly.”
According to Rawat, limiting the highway’s width to 5.5 metres will not meet the aim of facilitating movement of armed forces and defence equipment to the strategically important border areas in Uttarakhand which shares international border with China and Nepal.
It will be recalled that earlier this month, the Supreme Court had directed the government to limit the width of the said highway to 5.5 metres as specified in 2018 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for roads under construction in mountainous regions.
