DEHRADUN: Incessant rains and cloudbursts led to massive damage to property and road infrastructure in various parts of Uttarakhand on Friday night. The Badrinath Yatra has been suspended due to frequent landslides in the area, officials said.
A State Disaster Response Force spokesperson at the Jolly Grant headquarters in Dehradun said several vehicles were buried in the debris due to a cloudburst in Purola and Naugaon in Uttarkashi.
SDRF personnel already located in areas like Chinyalisaur (Tehri lake, Uttarkashi), Ujli and Janki Chatti (Yamunotri) have also been stretched to Nagaon and Purola in Uttarkashi’s interiors for relief operations.
“The SDRF is carrying out relief on a war footing,” SDRF Commandant Manikant Mishra told this newspaper on Saturday. “At Bangapani in Pithoragarh district, rain-dependent rivers are overflowing, washing away 150 metres of the road due to strong currents.” This road links Bangapani to Jarajibli in further north of Dharchula block.
In a tweet on Saturday morning, the Chamoli police said the Badrinath national highway has been blocked due to the landslide debris at Nandprayag, Belakuchi and Pagalnala, resulting in the blockage for Badrinath yatra.
SDRF sources said a Class 10 student was rescued from being swept away in a swollen river on Saturday morning in a village of Bhilangana block (Tehri Garhwal).