Badrinath highway remains blocked
Thursday, 17 AUGUST 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The authorities rescued a total of 293 tourists and pilgrims from Madmaheshwar Valley who were stranded there after a part of the bridge connecting the village to the main road was washed away due to heavy rains in the wee hours of Monday. The main road was also severely damaged due to rain. People who belonged to different districts and states were rescued with the help of the rescue teams of police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with helicopters, said the officials. They said that SDRF’s rescue teams walked several kilometres in inclement weather conditions to reach the spot where the bridge had collapsed and a portion of about 200 metres of the road had completely washed away leaving several commuters stranded on the other side. The river was also in spate and the water level of the river was also increasing continuously due to which it was not possible to cross the river. The officials said that about 190 people were rescued with the help of helicopters and were shifted to a safe place along with the remaining people. Besides this, several routes remain blocked in various parts of the State due to incessant rainfall. The Char Dham Yatra of Badrinath also remains affected as various stretches of the Badrinath National Highway were either blocked by debris or got washed away. The authorities resumed the operation of two-wheeler vehicles on some routes on Wednesday evening. A landslide also occurred in Jakhan village of Dehradun’s Vikasnagar on Wednesday evening in which five houses collapsed while 10 houses were severely damaged. No loss of life was reported till late evening, as per the officials.
