Uttarakhand: Villagers of Harsari upset due to explosion in tunnel construction

The villagers of Harsari village are scared of the explosions being carried out during the tunnel construction of the 444 MW Pipalkoti-Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project under construction on the Alaknanda. They say that the government should first protect us and then give permission to the company for the explosion. He said that if such blasts keep happening in the area, then the condition of Harsari village can also be seen like Joshimath.

Villagers said- first protect us administration, then give permission to explode

The construction work of the project started in the year 2003. A 13.4 kilometer long tunnel is to be constructed from Helang (10 km away from Joshimath) to Pipalkoti on this project worth Rs 4,000 crore being made with the help of the World Bank. Dhuri Devi, 76, Tarendra Joshi and village head Rajendra Hatwal of Harsari village say that THDC, the project’s construction company, is carrying out indiscriminate blasting in tunnel construction. Due to which cracks have come in their houses. The ground is shaking in the area due to the explosion from morning till night. Technical and environmental aspects are not being taken care of in project construction.

Affected villagers say that at present 12 families are living in Harsari village, but the construction of the project has made their life difficult. A demand was raised that the administration should inspect our houses. THDC Managing Director RN Singh says that controlled blasting is being done in tunnel construction. The villagers of Harsari village were earlier asked to leave the land after taking compensation but the villagers did not agree.