LEH: Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has directed the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Public Works Department (PWD) to conduct detailed safety audits of landslide- and rockfall-prone stretches and implement preventive measures to minimise disruptions and improve road safety.
The directions were issued during a high-level review meeting convened in the wake of recent landslides and rockfalls that damaged property and disrupted traffic on national highways. The meeting was attended by senior officers of the Indian Army, BRO and the Union Territory Administration.
The Lieutenant Governor asked the agencies to carry out safety audits of around 15 identified vulnerable locations on the Leh-Kargil National Highway and four to five high-risk points on the Leh-Nubra road via Khardung La. He directed officials to assess unstable slopes and remove loose rocks wherever necessary to reduce the risk to commuters.
Saxena emphasised the need to shift from a reactive approach to proactive risk assessment and engineering-based mitigation to ensure safer roads, uninterrupted connectivity and greater resilience against natural hazards.
During the meeting, BRO officials briefed the Lieutenant Governor on factors contributing to slope failures, including changing rainfall patterns, geological conditions, slope gradients, weathering, developmental activities and water pressure.
Officials also presented various mitigation measures, including retaining walls, soil nailing, rock bolting, flexible debris barriers, rockfall embankments, rock sheds, high-energy absorption barriers, smart rockfall detection systems and the use of geosynthetic materials.
Chief Engineer, Project Vijayak, assured the meeting that safety audits and preventive measures on the Leh-Kargil and Leh-Nubra highways would be taken up on priority. The Lieutenant Governor also directed the PWD to undertake similar safety audits and risk mitigation works on road stretches under its jurisdiction.
