Elevated Roads in Dehradun are a Seismic Gamble

                 

​By Bharti P Jain

Fault Lines Beneath Our Feet :-

Dehradun has always been admired for its valley, its rivers, and its quiet charm between the Shivaliks and the Himalaya. But beneath this beauty lies a reality we often ignore—our city sits on active fault lines and in one of India’s highest seismic risk zones. In this context, the proposal to build massive elevated roads across the Rispana and Bindal Rivers is deeply troubling.​​

Living on Fault Lines :-

The Doon Valley is framed by some of the most active tectonic features in the Himalaya. The Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) runs along the valley’s northern edge, while the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) lies just south. In addition, smaller fractures crisscross the valley itself, especially near the Song, Rispana, and Bindal catchments.

This makes Dehradun highly vulnerable to earthquakes. In fact, India’s seismic zoning map places us in Zone IV—high risk.

Why Elevated Roads Are Unsafe :-

Elevated roads rely on long viaducts and rows of pillars, often founded on riverbeds. But the Rispana and Bindal beds are not solid rock—they are loose alluvium: sand, gravel, and silt. In an earthquake, these soft layers can liquefy, behaving like quicksand. No amount of concrete can truly stabilise such ground against fault movement.

Even moderate tremors can crack pillars, tilt foundations, or cause sections of viaducts to settle unevenly. And if a major quake occurs, collapsed spans could block evacuation routes instead of helping mobility—turning the project into a death trap.

A Hidden Maintenance Burden :-

Fault lines are not static. Continuous micro-movements stress expansion joints, bearings, and foundations. This means the elevated corridor will require constant repair and retrofitting. What looks like a one-time investment today may become a long-term financial drain tomorrow.

A Safer Path Ahead :-
Rather than gambling with seismic risks, the government should focus on restoring rivers—cleaning them, safeguarding floodplains, and reinforcing embankments. Traffic management can be improved by upgrading surface roads and spreading the load through several smaller connections instead of relying on a single massive corridor. Above all, transport planning must integrate seismic resilience, moving beyond short-term engineering fixes to long-term safety.​

A Call to the Authorities Concerned :-

Building elevated roads over Rispana and Bindal may appear modern, but beneath the surface it is unsafe, uneconomical, and ecologically destructive. In a valley sitting on active faults, this is not just an engineering decision—it is a gamble with public safety and finances.

For Dehradun, the wiser path lies not in burying rivers under concrete, but in respecting the land we stand on.

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(Bharti P Jain is Principal Architect at P Jain & Co.;

Convenor, Intach Dehradun Chapter, and Member of Dehradun Citizens’ Forum.)