PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
With multitudes thronging the Kainchi Dham in Nainital district to pay their respects to Neem Karoli Baba, the traffic load in this area of the district has also been increasing every year. The State government is working on measures to address this issue in order to ensure a safe and convenient experience for the pilgrims and local travellers. The effort has gained momentum now with the Centre approving forest land transfer for construction of the bypass.
Considering the rising vehicular pressure on national highway 109E near Kainchi Dham, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had announced the construction of Kainchi Dham bypass in 2023 to resolve the vehicular load and ensure a safer journey for all. The 19-kilometre long Kainchi Dham bypass will consist of a bridge to be constructed across the Shipra river. A sum of Rs 1,214.71 lakh has been made available to the Public Works Department for the construction/widening and asaphaltisation of an eight –kilometre stretch of this road in the first phase of the project. The work on construction of this motor road is in progress, officials informed. As forest land is involved in facilitation of the remaining 11-kilometre stretch, a proposal to address this issue had been sent to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change by the State, the officials informed.
According to official sources, due to the special efforts of the chief minister, in the meeting of the MoEF, REC, approval was granted for the transfer of forest land to facilitate the construction of the road proposed by the State government. Work on this stretch of the road will be started soon. It is pertinent to mention here that lakhs of people visit the Kainchi Dham every year and the number is rising consistently. In order to facilitate completion of the construction of the bypass announced in 2023, Dhami met the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change last week requesting him to expedite the process of forest land transfer. Dhami said that the MoEFCC has granted its approval in principle to the forest land transfer for construction of the Kainchi Dham bypass. This will expedite the construction of this road which will considerably benefit both the local residents and the tourists. The construction of the bypass will resolve the traffic jam which occurs near Kainchi Dham and Bhawali, the chief minister added.
