Uttarakhand: Passengers stranded due to hill cracks on Tanakpur-Pithoragarh highway, 167 roads including two national highways closed
The wheels on the Tanakpur-Pithoragarh National Highway remained stalled for the whole day on Sunday due to the hill cracking in Swanla of Champawat in Uttarakhand. The road connectivity between the mountain and the plain has been closed since 10.30 pm on Saturday night. A total of 167 roads, including two national highways, are closed due to landslides and boulders due to rain in the state.
At 10.30 pm on Saturday night, debris came to the hills in Swanla on the Tanakpur-Pithoragarh National Highway. This resulted in long lines of vehicles on both sides of the highway. More than 150 vehicles were stranded on both the sides from morning till evening. Later these vehicles and the passengers trapped in it were sent back by the administration.
According to the Disaster Management Department, the work started after 2 pm on Sunday but the work had to be stopped due to debris in between. EE of NH section Sunil Kumar said that two machines were installed to open the road but the debris could not be removed till late evening. The road is expected to open by Monday morning.
After the closure of NH, the administration swung into action. Movement from Tanakpur and Champawat side was stopped. Tehsildar Jyoti Dhapwal inspected the spot and instructed the NH section to work fast. Water and biscuits were arranged for the stranded passengers. On the other hand, the security wall below the road has also been damaged due to the breakdown of 30 meters of the road in Swanla due to heavy debris.
Two bodies being brought to Pithoragarh and Champawat were also stranded for hours. Revenue personnel, with the help of laborers, carried one dead body on foot two km from the mountain road to the other side of the road, while the other dead body was taken back to Pithoragarh via Haldwani. Basanti Devi (65) wife of Bajrikot in Champawat, Lakshman Ram died during treatment at AIIMS Rishikesh. Basanti’s body was being brought to Champawat by ambulance. Later the body was brought in a pickup from Champawat.
After changing the route of vehicles going to the plains, they were sent via Devidhura. In case of emergency, small vehicles have been sent through the Sukhidhang-Danda-Midar (SDM) route. DM Narendra Singh Bhandari said that vehicles have been stopped near Kakraligate in Tanakpur and Kotwali and Banlekh in Champawat as a precautionary measure.
Roadways service has been affected due to the hill crossing near Swanla. On Sunday, the only roadways bus from Lohaghat to Haldwani ran but this bus also got stuck in Swanla, 23 km away. Not a single bus operated from Lohaghat. Vehicles were sent via Pati-Devidhura.
