A dam on the Ramganga river, landslide-protection works, new roads, a polytechnic building, and a brand-new police station — Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami arrived in Gairsain (Bharadisei) on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, and unveiled a ₹231.91-crore infrastructure package for Chamoli district, covering 12 development schemes spanning six critical sectors.

₹122-crore dam that could reshape Gairsain's water future

The centrepiece of the day is a proposed dam on the Ramganga river, budgeted at ₹122.69 crore, designed to secure drinking-water supply for Gairsain town and surrounding settlements. For a hill town that the Uttarakhand legislature recognised as a summer-capital site in 2020, reliable water infrastructure is not a luxury — it is a prerequisite for any serious administrative expansion. If executed on schedule, the project would address one of the most persistent complaints from residents and local representatives about the town's readiness for a larger governance role.

Bahuguna Nagar landslide work and the Chamoli risk landscape

Chamoli district sits in one of India's most geologically unstable zones, and the second-largest new commitment reflects that reality. ₹50.19 crore will go toward land-subsidence protection works at Bahuguna Nagar in the Karnprayag development block. Across Uttarakhand, recurring monsoon-triggered landslides have repeatedly severed roads, damaged homes, and displaced communities — making geo-stabilisation investments both urgent and politically popular in hill constituencies.

Roads, a polytechnic, and policing — six foundations laid

Beyond water and disaster risk, CM Dhami performed the shilanyas (foundation-laying) of four more projects: a ₹12.17-crore building for Government Polytechnic Gairsain; maintenance work on the Government Ayurvedic Hospital Bachhuwaban at ₹22.75 lakh; the Kumoli Raiwan motor road extension at ₹6.99 crore; and a road link from the Gairsain-Pajyana motor road at ₹5.61 crore. Together these six foundation-laying projects carry a combined cost of ₹197.87 crore.

Six completed schemes inaugurated on the same day

Equally notable were the six schemes that have already crossed the finish line, now handed over to the public at a combined cost of ₹34.04 crore. The most expensive completion is the upgrade of the Khajurkhal-Bhandarikhod-Kunigad motor road (Bachhuwaban–Chaukhutia) at ₹14.82 crore. A newly built auditorium at Government Inter College Gairsain — costing ₹4.38 crore — hands students a permanent venue for examinations and cultural events.

Road improvements on the Saarkot-Bharadisei motor road (km 6 to km 11) worth ₹4.03 crore and renovation of the Kargil Shaheed Ranjit Singh (Aagar-Jingode) motor road (km 1 to km 8) for ₹2.18 crore broaden connectivity in an area where a single blocked road can cut off entire villages for days. Rounding out the inaugurations: a fire-unit building worth ₹4.38 crore and a new Thana Gairsain police-station building at ₹4.25 crore — both directly strengthening emergency-response capacity in the hill town.

Cabinet presence underlines Gairsain's political weight

Cabinet ministers Satpal Maharaj, Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat, and Bharat Chaudhary, along with MLA Anil Nautiyal, District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar, Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar, and Chief Development Officer Dr. Abhishek Tripathi were present — a line-up that signals this was not a routine district visit but a deliberate show of state-government commitment to Gairsain's development arc.

Gairsain's long journey from a remote hill town to a constitutionally recognised summer-capital aspiration now has ₹231.91 crore worth of brick, asphalt, and concrete behind it. The Ramganga dam timeline will be the first real test of whether ambition matches execution.