Spotlight on roads as industry expands

First such “prospecting license” has been awarded to Dalmia group that would carry out a survey at the latest proposed site for setting up a cement plant in Kothi-Salbagh area of Basantpur. This is the sixth site in the list of upcoming cement manufacturing areas, where the mining and geology wing of the Industries department has carried out surveys to find limestone prospects during the last four years. But shortage of resources and staff posed problems leading to outsourcing. The license has been awarded for three years, with a provision for two years’ extension.

The existing cement industry is concentrated in the mid-Himachal comprising Solan and Bilaspur districts. But during the past few years, more limestone deposits have been discovered in the interiors of the state like Chamba, Sundernagar, Alsindi (Karsog) and Chopal spawning industrial development in these places. But this has also raised question whether the existing road infrastructure will be able to take the increased load of traffic resulting from industrial expansion.

Three functional cement units — Ambuja at Darlaghat (Solan), ACC Barmana (Bilaspur) and CCI Rajban (Sirmour) — are already struggling against the problem of roads overcrowded with clinker-loaded trucks, which is also posing environmental hazard.

“Lately, in order to develop an alternative, the government has renewed mining lease of National Mining Development Corporation at Arki on the condition that it constructs an over-head conveyor belt system (ropeway) of about 37 km to transport limestone (for steel industry) up to Bharatgarh near Ropar. An agreement was also reached with Ambuja to transport clinker from Darlaghat through this ropeway route to ease the traffic on roads”, said state Geologist Arun Sharma.

Moreover the impact of accompanying environment pollution in areas adjoining cement industries has still been not assessed, raising apprehensions among people in areas such as Basantpur, which in the last decade has set good example of agricultural diversification. Basantpur area, apart from being an apple belt has also put into practice an innovative idea to generate profits from mass production of off-seasonal vegetables.

The national highway leading from Basantpur towards Rampur-Kinnaur also attracts tourist traffic and in the past years heave borne the brunt of transportation of machinery to hydro power projects like NJPC and Baspa-II.