U’khand plans tunnel parking lots
A tunnel parking each will be built in Gangotri and Yamunotri –– two of the four revered dhams (pilgrimage sites) in Uttarkashi district – to address shortage of parking space amid increasing pilgrim footfall, state government officials said on Monday.
Experts decried the move as heavily detrimental to the fragile ecology of the region. Each tunnel will have a capacity to park 400 vehicles. The construction is part of the state government’s plan to build 12 tunnel-based parking lots in the hills, the officials said.
A road map for 158 parking facilities with a capacity of 10,000 vehicles in all is being prepared in the state, which includes 50 surface parking, 88 multi-level, nine automated and 12 tunnel parking facilities.
YP Sundriyal, an Uttarakhandbased geologist, said, “The government should be cautious with such projects. It should be built in areas where the rock quality is good and not weak. If such projects come up in areas like Silkyara, where a tunnel collapsed last year, it could pose significant safety and stability issues.”
Slots for 22 parking facilities have been identified in Almora district, eight in Bageshwar dis16 in Chamoli district, 7 in Champawat district, 4 in Dehradun district, 5 in Haridwar district, 6 in Nainital district, 17 in Pauri district, 16 in Pithoragarh district, 4 in Rudraprayag district, 25 in Tehri district, 16 in Uttarkashi district and 2 in Udham Singh district.
According to officials, 108 parking lots will be developed on priority and have been put in the ‘A’ category and the other 58 in the ‘B’ category. ‘A’ category projects are given priority, while ‘B’ category will come up later.
Uttarkashi district magistrate Dr Meharban Singh Bisht said, “We have planned to build two tunnel parkings in Gangotri and Yamunotri dhams. In Gangotri, the site has been finalised. Its detailed project report is being prepared. In Yamunotri, the site selection process is underway.”
The Gangotri region is prone to glacial movements, landslides, and seismic activity, which can affect infrastructure and accessibility.
The Yamnotri dham area is also subjected to glacial melt and landslides. Its high-altitude location makes it vulnerable to extreme weather conditions.
Both regions face challenges related to infrastructure development. According to experts, building roads, bridges, and tunnels in such high-altitude, fragile environments requires careful planning to avoid exacerbating environmental degradation or increase risk of natural disasters.
Vineet Rastogi, an engineer at Uttarkashi district development authority, said, “The project (tuntrict, nel parking) aims to address the parking woes in Gangotri and Yamunotri dhams. Since we don’t have open land in hills, it is difficult to accommodate the vehicles.”
Giving details of the project, he said, “Each parking lot would have a capacity of 400 vehicles. The government agency NHIDCL has been authorised to prepare a DPR (detailed project report) of the two parkings. In Gangotri, they (NHIDCL) have finalised the site, while it is yet to be done in Yamunotri. An amount of ₹77 lakh has been released to NHIDCL for preparation of the DPR, acquiring an NOC from the departments concerned and other aspects.”
An official of the NHIDCL, who didn’t wish to be named, said, “The project is in the design stage. We are conducting the feasibility study of the project. Aspects like geology, geomorphology, and physics will be taken into consideration before. But, prima facie, it seems that we can go ahead with the projects with certain precautions and safety features.”