Uttarakhand: Rishikesh-Badrinath highway reopened for traffic after 17-hour closure due to landslide

After a 17-hour closure caused by a massive landslide near Atali in Uttarakhand, the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway was reopened for traffic on Tuesday, August 8. According to reports, the landslide occurred at 7 pm on Monday, stranding a huge number of vehicles along the route. Following this, authorities had to divert traffic to alternate routes due to a massive pile of debris on the road. 

Landslides in Totaghati and Singtoli

Speaking to the media, Devendra Negi, the SDM of Narendra Nagar, said that two more landslides had occurred in Totaghati and Singtoli. According to him, construction agencies worked on a war footing and cleared the road of debris in nearly 17 hours.  The highway was opened for light vehicles at noon and for heavy vehicles at 12.30 pm, he added. 

After the disruption on Monday evening, Tehri District Magistrate Mayur Dikshit diverted stranded vehicles to alternative routes like Devbprayag-Gaja-Khadi-Rishikesh, Maletha-Gadoliya-Tehri-Chamba-Rishikesh and Muni-ki-Reti-Narendra Nagar-Tehri, Negi said. Traffic is normal along the highway now but rain continues.

Police and NHAI personnel have been asked to keep a watch, he added. 

Arako-Chinva motorway collapses in landslide

Earlier on August 5, 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 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.

(With PTI inputs) 

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