An official has just finished a presentation about a proposed new railway line that will connect their region in Bageshwar to the plains in Tanakpur, involving numerous tunnels and high bridges.
The hall erupts in applause.
Santa is on his feet, clapping the loudest.
“Banta, did you hear that?”
“A train!”
“A real Chhuk-Chhuk Gaadi will thunder through our valleys!” Santa says to Banta later, his face flushed with excitement.
“Our apples and potatoes will reach the big markets faster!”
“Our children can travel to big cities for education!”
“No more bumpy bus rides!”
This is the ultimate Vikas ka Engine!”
Banta shares a part of Santa’s excitement but holds a deep reservation.
“It is indeed a grand dream, Santa.”
“To see a train in our mountains will be a sight to behold.”
“But while we celebrate the Vikas ka Engine, we must also quietly ask about the mountain’s inner tremble that it might bring.”
“Inner tremble?” Santa asks.
“You mean when the train passes?”
“That will be a sound of progress!”
“I mean a tremble much deeper and longer-lasting than that, Santa,” Banta explains patiently.
“To bring this train here, they will have to bore long tunnels through the very heart of these mountains.”
“This will involve months, maybe years, of powerful blasting with explosives.”
“This can create new cracks and weaken the already fractured and stressed rock mass of our geologically young and active Himalayas.”
“A few cracks… but the mountain is huge!” Santa argues.
“True.”
“But now think beyond the construction,” Banta continues.
“Imagine the railway line is ready.”
“Now, a heavy, powerful train will run on these tracks, vibrating through the tunnels and over the bridges, not once, but many times a day.”
“Every single day.”
“For the next fifty, one hundred years.”
“It’s like a constant, low-level Thap-Thap-Thap deep inside the mountain’s bones.”
He picks up a sun-dried mud brick with a hairline crack in it.
“Look at this brick, Santa.”
“It’s stable now.”
“But if I sit here and gently tap it, right next to the crack, a thousand times a day, every day… what do you think will happen over time?”
“It… it would probably break, Banta,” Santa admits.
“Exactly,” Banta says, putting the brick down.
“Our mountains have many such hidden cracks – geological faults, thrusts, fractures, joints and other zones of weakness.”
“We must ask our engineers and scientists if they are absolutely certain that this perpetual, long-term vibration from train movements will not, over many years, slowly weaken these sensitive zones, stress the rock, and perhaps awaken a sleeping landslide or make a stable slope unstable.”
“We are introducing a new, constant source of vibration into a very delicate system.”
“We must be sure we understand the consequences not just for tomorrow’s convenience, but for our grandchildren’s safety.”
Santa’s excitement is now tempered with a thoughtful concern.
“So, the train’s daily Dhak-Dhak could become the mountain’s long-term Daard?”
“I never thought of it that way.”
“It’s a question we must ask before the first blast happens.”
Banta nods.
“Vikas that respects the mountain’s delicate nature is true Vikas.”
“We must welcome the Vikas ka Engine, but we must also ensure it doesn’t cause the mountain itself to derail.”
#piyoosh #piyooshrautela #riskavoider #riskavoideracademy #HimalayanEcosystem #SustainableInfrastructure #HillGeology #RiskAvoider #SlopeStability #PrecautionaryPrinciple
संता – बंता की इस जुगलबन्दी से आज हमने क्या सीखा:-
- हिमालयी क्षेत्र में रेल की तरह बड़े अवसंरचना विकास कार्यो के अन्तर्गत निर्माण के तात्कालिक प्रभावों के साथ-साथ दीर्घकालिक प्रचालनात्मक प्रभावों का भी वृहद आंकलन किया जाना चाहिये / Large-scale infrastructure projects like railways in the Himalayas require a thorough assessment of not just immediate construction impacts but also long-term operational impacts.
- हिमालयी क्षेत्र में सुरंग निर्माण तथा विस्फोटकों के उपयोग से चट्टानों के कमजोर पड़ने से नयी घातकता उत्पन्न हो सकती है / Extensive blasting and tunneling can weaken the fragile rock mass, creating new vulnerabilities.
- रेलगाड़ी की नियमित आवाजाही से उत्पन्न होने वाले कम्पनों का हिमालयी क्षेत्र में ढाल की स्थिरता तथा भूकम्पीयता पर पड़ सकने वाले दूरगामी प्रभावों का गहनता से अध्ययन व निराकरण किया जाना चाहिये / The potential long-term effects of sustained vibrations from train movements on slope stability and seismic activity in sensitive geological zones must be rigorously studied and addressed.
- संवेदनशील हिमालयी क्षेत्र को नये, बड़े परिमाण के व गतिशील बलों से परिचित करवाते समय पर्याप्त सावधानी बरतना जरूरी है / A precautionary approach is essential when introducing new, large-scale dynamic forces into a fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
संता – बंता की यह जुगलबन्दी आपको कैसी लगी, कृपया हमें जरुर बताये
व
इस जुगलबन्दी को बेहतर बनाने के लिये अपने सुझाव अवश्य दें।
हमें हमेशा की तरह आपके सुझावों, प्रतिक्रियाओं व कटाक्षो का बेसब्री से इंतजार रहता हैं और सच मानिये इसी के आधार पर हम अपने आप में, अपनी सोच व रचनात्मकता में सुधार करने को प्रेरित होते हैं।
सो अच्छा – बुरा जैसा आपको महसूस हुवा हो, कमेंट जरुर करते रहें।
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