Mussoorie: The foundation stone for the proposed 4.5-km-long Mussoorie tunnel is expected to be laid next month by Nitin Gadkari, Union minister of road transport and highways. The tunnel project has been touted as a critical one to reduce traffic congestion at Gandhi Chowk on the Mussoorie Mall Road.
Mussoorie MLA Ganesh Joshi said, “This tunnel would resolve the traffic congestion issue in Mussoorie for the next 100 years.” The MLA added that the length of the tunnel has been increased from 2.74 km to 4.5 km and the entire cost of the project has been raised from Rs 700 crore to Rs 837 crore. However, environmentalists have been opposing the project since its inception, saying Mussoorie is a seismically-active zone and the tunnel could pose grave risks for the town. They fear that the tunnel would adversely impact underground aquifers, which are among the primary sources of water for the town. "We are in a seismically active zone and the construction of a tunnel could pose a risk to the town,” said Hugh Gantzer, a member of the Supreme Court panel constituted to monitor the environmental issues of the Doon Valley and Mussoorie.
Reenu Paul, a Dehradun-based environmentalist, added, “Just as the Char Dham road project has destroyed the Ganga valley, this tunnel would cause damage in the entire Yamuna valley. Also, more such projects are bound to follow and wreak havoc on the environment.”
