Uttarakhand : Orange alert of heavy rain in seven districts, hundreds of roads including Badrinath highway closed

In Uttarakhand, since late Friday night, the rain from the mountain to the plain has created a problem. The risk of landslides has increased in mountainous areas. River drains are also in spate. At the same time, an orange alert has also been issued for heavy to very heavy rain in the next 24 hours in Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar. Heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur in most areas in all these districts. Director of Meteorological Center Vikram Singh said that there is a possibility of rain from plain to mountain within the next 48 hours. In such a situation, there is a need to be vigilant in terms of disaster management.

Badrinath Highway remained blocked for 12 hours in Farasu, closed in Bachelikhal and Saknidhar
Rishikesh-Badrinath highway near Farasu Hanuman temple was blocked for about 12 hours due to debris coming from the hill. Vehicular movement was restored on the highway after 9.30 am. Police had diverted vehicles on the Srinagar-Khirsu road during this period. At the same time, the highway was closed again in Bachelikhal and Saknidhar.

The landslide affected area has become active again at Farasu Hanuman Mandir towards Rudraprayag, about six kilometers ahead of Srinagar. Here the treatment has been done on behalf of PWD National Highway (PWD HH) section. Despite this, boulders are falling from the hill.

Traffic was disrupted due to debris coming in Farasu around 8 pm on Friday night. On information, SSI Santosh Pathwal of Srinagar Kotwali and Shrikot outpost in-charge LS Kunwar reached the spot. After about an hour the PWD restored the traffic by clearing the debris but the debris came again around 9:30 pm. In view of this, the police diverted the traffic to an alternate route. Assistant Engineer Akhilesh Saini said that the road was opened for traffic by removing the debris by around 9:30 in the morning.

Devalsari Gadera is in spate due to heavy rain overnight in Naogaon. Due to which there is no movement on Yamunotri Highway. Many private vehicles, including 108 vehicles, are stranded here. Children going to school in the city area, including many teachers going on duty, are also stranded, who are waiting for the road to open. Local people returning after working from the fields are crossing the road sitting in the bucket of the JCB machine engaged in opening the road. As the JCB machine is clearing the debris, the debris is coming again with the flow of water.

Along with this, more than 186 roads in the state were closed due to landslides and boulders. At the same time, the Public Works Department was busy in opening 65 roads on Friday.

According to a bulletin issued late in the evening, NH-107 between km 51 to 84 was blocked due to slip and boulders near Kund in Rudraprayag district. The work of opening the highway is going on. 89 JCB machines have been deployed to open the National Highway. At the same time, a total of 280 JCB machines are used to open the roads. Apart from this, 18 state level roads, five main district roads, seven other district roads, 70 rural roads and 85 PMGSY roads remained closed. 95 roads were closed on Friday while 156 roads were closed from a day earlier. Of the 251 closed roads, 65 were opened.