highlights
10 months time to prepare Detail Project Report (DPR)
Ministry invites Request for Proposals (RFP)
Bidding will start from February 13, deadline fixed for February 20
Report-Nivedita Singh
Amarnath. The Central Government is going to make it easier for the pilgrims traveling to Amarnath. The Central Government has decided to construct a long road on the 22 kilometer route between Chandanwadi and Sangam. Tunnel road will also be prepared on this route on 11 kilometer portion which will be under Ganesh Top. The new road will also provide an alternate route between Ladakh and Jammu bypassing Srinagar city. The special thing is that this 22 kilometer long route will be suitable for pilgrims in every season.
The Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has entrusted the responsibility of preparing this new route to the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). On behalf of NHIDCL, NHIDCL is responsible for the construction of ‘Sheshnag Tunnel’ on Khanabal-Baltal section of NH-501. Request for proposals (RFP) has been invited by NHIDCL, this body of the Center. Bidding for this will start from February 13. The deadline for this has been fixed as February 20, 2023.
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According to the documents of Stuffunknown, this work will be done in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode. The central government will fund the entire project, while the private sector partner will provide the engineering and construction requirements.
According to the documents, all the Project Management Consultancy (PMC) firms will be given 10 months time to prepare the Detail Project Report. At the same time, all the related activities before this construction will have to be completed within two months. It is estimated that it will take 2 months to complete all this. And the construction of the road will take 60 months i.e. 5 years. A time of 5 years has been fixed for the construction of this entire project.
Let us tell that the Amarnath temple is located on the Amarnath mountain at an altitude of 13,000 feet above sea level in the upper areas of Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir. To visit the Amarnath cave temple, devotees can reach only on foot or through a pony. Pilgrims have to go through a lot of difficulties to reach the Amarnath cave temple located inside the Himalayas in a narrow valley at the end of the Lidder Valley. There is a lot of difficulty on the way to reach the temple. That’s why the Amarnath Yatra route is opened for the public only in the month of Shravan, around July-August.
The Baltal Route of the temple is located about 40-45 km from Pahalgam and 15 km from Baltal. But due to the steep climb, people also face a lot of trouble. While the Pahalgam route is long, it is an easy way for the devotees to reach the temple. Baltal route can be covered in a day. But the Pahalgam route requires at least four days. On this way, devotees can stay for the night at Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarani.
Meanwhile, if seen during the Amarnath Yatra, many devotees also die on the way to the yatra. Last year in 2022, 15 pilgrims lost their lives due to the sudden flood in Amarnath. Due to other natural reasons also 42 pilgrims died. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Home Affairs, between 2016 and 2019, around 107 people have died during the Amarnath Yatra.
An official of MoRTH says that the main purpose of building the road construction project is to provide connectivity to the devotees in every season i.e. 12 months.
According to official sources, this road will be constructed in such a way that it will be able to provide connectivity in all seasons. With this, the movement of the devotees going to Amarnath will be smooth and easy. Not only this, after the completion of this road, passengers going from Jammu to Ladakh will also be allowed to bypass Srinagar city. It will provide alternate connectivity for them. He also said that if everything goes according to plan, the paperwork will take about two years and after that the construction work will start.
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Tags: amarnath yatra, Central government, jammu and kashmir news
FIRST PUBLISHED : January 18, 2023, 13:54 IST
