Seven weeks later, on September 9, 2008, Vij went a step further and ordered the termination of all contracts between kilometres 30 and 52 on the section. This move put on hold the construction of the Chenab Bridge—already publicised as India’s grand attempt to construct the world’s tallest bridge at a height of 359 metre from the riverbed.

Having already pumped in close to Rs 150 crore to construct this mega-bridge, Railways had failed to show tangible results given the geological challenges thrown up by the terrain. Putting a full stop on the construction of this bridge, Vij then cleared a new location two kilometres upstream for the bridge.

But the proposed new location brought with it another realisation. Offering a higher bed level, this new location would have brought down the bridge’s height by a good 120-150 meters from the riverbed. That would have meant burying the grand plan to construct the world’s highest bridge.

The alternative plan

Chief Engineer Alok Verma, who had worked on the J&K project from 2004 to 2006, was, in fact, the first to raise the red flag over the original alignment, questioning its safety and stability. Drawing lessons from railway lines built on mountains the world over, Verma proposed several new alignments and backed the one with a gradient of 1 in 40, which means that the alignment gains a height of one metre after every 40 metres it traverses on the ground. The original alignment was being constructed on a 1 in 100 gradient. Recommending against using a “serpentine” alignment along the major geographical faultlines, Verma suggested that major faultlines should be crossed at right angles.

... contd.