Uttarakhand: Heavy rains wash away part of Badrinath highway, pilgrimage disrupted

Dehradun, July 24

A 100-metre stretch of the Gauchar-Badrinath highway at Kamera was washed away on Monday following heavy overnight rainfall, disrupting the pilgrimage to the Himalayan temple.

The route will remain closed for Badrinath pilgrims for two-three days, an official statement said here, adding efforts are underway on a war footing to repair and open the route to traffic at the earliest.

A part of a road also caved in at Bhattnagar near Gauchar and five vehicles parked along the roadside got buried in the debris but no one was hurt in the incident, the state emergency operation centre here said. The rubble is being cleared, it said.

As normalisation of traffic along the route is likely to take 2-3 days or more, stranded Badrinath and Karnaprayag bound vehicles were advised to take alternative routes to reach their destination, Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police Vishakha Ashok Bhadane, who visited the site, said.

It would be pointless for the vehicles to stand and wait on the route for restoration of traffic which might take more than 2-3 days, she said.

Small vehicles were diverted to Karnaprayag or Gopeshwar via Rudraprayag, Belni bridge, Collectorate, Saterakhal, Durgadhar, Chopta, Mohankhal and Pokhri, she said.

Chopta-Gopeshwar motor road that goes via Kund and Ukhimath can also be used as an alternative route by small vehicles, the SP said. A 60-70 metre stretch of the highway has been totally washed away, Bhadane said.