Uttarakhand: Commuters stranded as parts of Arako-Chinva motorway collapse in landslide

A landslide occurred on the Arako-Chinva motorway in Modi village, leaving a large number of commuters left stranded on the borders of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. According to officials, parts of the road have collapsed in the landslide in the region. Meanwhile, the district administration also said that dozens of villages have also been isolated as torrential rains in the state led to multiple landslides in several parts.

Landslide at Gangotri National Highway

Earlier in the day, a portion of Gangotri National Highway caved in due to a landslide near the Forest Department office at Lisa Depot in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi disrupting vehicular movement.

According to officials, a stretch of around 60 meters has caved in and the area is close to an airstrip said to be strategically important. On Thursday, the Gangotri National Highway, 500 meters ahead of Bhatwadi, stood closed to traffic due to falling of debris.

ALSO READ: Uttarakhand: Three dead, 17 missing in Rudraprayag landslide, orange alert issued for next four days

Search operation resumes near Gaurikund

Meanwhile, a search operation to trace people who went missing following a landslide triggered by a flash flood near Gaurikund this week resumed on Saturday morning.

According to district disaster management officer Nandan Singh Rajwar, around 100 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, along with a team of the local administration, are engaged in the search operation. Drones are being used as well, he added. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is scheduled to visit the spot to review the search and rescue operations.

It should be noted here that three shops were washed away in the landslide following the flashflood in a rainfed waterfall at Daat Puliya near Gaurikund on the way to Kedarnath on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, leaving 20 people missing. The Mandakini River flows around 50 metres below the spot where the shops were located.

(With inputs from agencies) 

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