Saturday, 01 July 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Badrinath National Highway was reopened for the movement of vehicles early on Friday morning after it remained blocked for nearly 20 hours due to a landslide triggered by heavy rains near the Chhinka area of the Chamoli district. The district police said that the road was blocked around 9:50 AM on Thursday which was reopened around 3:30 AM on Friday after hours of efforts by authorities concerned to clear the route.
The landslide had affected nearly 100 metres of the stretch of the highway due to which thousands of pilgrims were stranded from Thursday morning till early Friday morning. The stranded pilgrims included those who were on their way to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib but the vehicles returning from Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib were cleared first, as per the police. The police personnel also filled potholes with stones and soil in the pits near the affected route in the morning as a temporary solution for the passage of the vehicles of the pilgrims.
The police said that the route was expected to be reopened earlier by 7 PM on Thursday but since it did not happen, the local administration made arrangements for the stranded pilgrims to stay in Birhi, Chamoli, Pipalkoti, Gauchar, Karnaprayag, Nandprayag, Badrinath and Joshimath and provided them food and water. Water tankers were also stationed at the location to ensure a regular supply of drinking water to the stranded pilgrims. Some pilgrims also had to spend the night reportedly in their respective vehicles.
The police said that the district administration was provided with additional machines from both ends of the road to remove heavy debris from the highway. In order to avoid inconvenience to the pilgrims, the passenger vehicles were kept at Badrinath, Padukeshwar, Govindghat, Joshimath, Pipalkoti, Mayapur, Chamoli, Nandprayag, Karnprayag, Gauchar and other safe places in the market, as per the police. The department concerned also restored telecom services which were interrupted at Pipalkoti, Joshimath and Badrinath after fibre optic cables were cut due to a landslide at Chhinka, said the police. The said route was also reportedly temporarily closed for vehicular movement in the evening after the administration received complaints of boulders falling off the hill.
