Chardham Highway project

Why in news?

• Due to heavy rains, a newly constructed section of road on Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway, which is being developed under Char Dham project, in Uttarakhand's Chamba caved in recently. 

About Chardham project:

• Char Dham Expressway National Highway is a proposed two-lane (in each direction) express National Highway with a minimum width of 10 metres in the state of Uttarakhand.
• The proposed highway will connect the four holy places of Chota chardham in Uttarakhand with nearly 900-km all-weather roads.
• The places connected under the project will include Badrinath, Kedarnath, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Gangotri and Yamunotri

About Chota Char Dham

• It is an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit in the Himalayas.
• Located in the Garhwal region of the state of Uttarakhand the circuit consists of four sites—Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.

About Char Dham

• The Char Dham is a set of four pilgrimage sites in India which comprises Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri and Rameswaram.

Prelims Question:
Which of the following pilgrimage sites are known as Chardham?

(a)Badrinath, Dwaraka, Varanasi and Rameswaram.

(b)Badrinath, Kedarnath, Puri and Haridwar.

(c)Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri and Rameswaram.

(d)Badrinath, Dwaraka, Kedarnath and Rameswaram.

Answer to the Prelims Question