DEHRADUN: The retreating monsoon continued to batter Uttarakhand’s border district of Pithoragarh, triggering landslides and flash floods that washed away a Bailey bridge and severed road connectivity to three strategically important valleys near the China border.
The 170-foot-long bridge over the swollen Kulagad stream in Dharchula was swept away on Friday night following heavy rain in the higher reaches. Its collapse has cut off the Vyas, Darma and Chaudas valleys from the district and tehsil headquarters.
Police have closed the Dharchula-Tawaghat-Gunji road as a precaution and advised residents and visitors against travelling in heavy, passenger or private vehicles until conditions improve.
The bridge had been completed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) only on August 27 and opened to traffic the following day. It replaced an earlier structure destroyed by falling boulders on August 18. After the previous collapse, the BRO had installed seven cemented culverts and created a temporary passage within three days.
Construction of the new Bailey bridge began on August 23.
A team from 67 Road Construction Company of the General Reserve Engineer Force, led by Officer Commanding Chandra Gupta, worked round the clock to complete it.
The operation involved an assistant engineer, six junior engineers, 35 workers, a crane, a loader and an excavator.
"The latest damage has renewed hardship for local communities and disrupted access towards the border region," BRO sources revealed.
Earlier on Friday, a major landslide near Gasku blocked the Adi Kailash pilgrimage route for nearly an hour.
Large boulders suddenly began rolling down the hillside, forcing an excavator operator working at the site to move the machine to safety.
Officials said his quick response helped avert a serious accident. According to district police sources, BRO personnel initially cleared the debris and reopened the road.
However, another spell of rockfall blocked it again.
Workers waited for the boulders to stop before deploying machinery, restoring traffic at around 2 pm. Rockfalls and landslides were also reported at Kulagad, Elagad, Bangyal and Malghat, causing repeated disruption along the pilgrimage route.
Officials said rain-soaked slopes had become unstable, increasing the risk of sudden rockfall at vulnerable stretches.
Nearly a dozen roads across Pithoragarh district remain blocked due to rain and landslides. “About a dozen roads in the district are closed because of the rain. The departments concerned are making continuous efforts to reopen them,” District Disaster Management Officer Bhupendra Meher said.
“We appeal to people to travel cautiously and prioritise safety amid continuing rainfall and landslide risks,” he added.
