Intense rainfall & landslides block nearly 100 roads in Uttarakhand, NH-58 remains shut

As several parts of Uttarakhand continue to reel under heavy rains, nearly 100 roads have been blocked in the state including a stretch of the Badrinath highway. As per officials, the National Highway 58 has been blocked for the past 20 days, following many landslides. A fresh landslide was reported on Sunday near the Kaudiyala area on the Rishikesh-Srinagar stretch of National Highway 58 in Tehri Garhwal district.

Brijesh Bhatt, disaster management officer for Tehri Garhwal district said continuous rainfall has led to frequent incidents of landslides and falling of debris from mountains on the Rishikesh-Srinagar stretch. The Totaghati area on National Highway 58 which connects to Badrinath has also been closed after frequent landslides since the past 20 days and work is underway to clear the roads.

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Over 100 roads blocked across Uttarakhand

The public works department has informed that more than 100 roads including four national highways were blocked and over 200 machines have been deployed to clear roads for smooth movement of traffic.

In Nainital district, six roads including one state highway were closed on Sunday due to heavy rains. Roads have been blocked at Bailparao-Kotabag-Kaladhungi on state highway 61, Fatehpur-Aniya motor road, Nauna Byasi-Siltona-Budlakote motor road and Chhiyori-Dhura-Suyalkhet motor road in Nainital. In Bageshwar district, houses of two locals from Majhgano village and Galai village got destroyed due to heavy rainfall on the same day.

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert from August 24 to 27 in Uttarakhand. Heavy rainfall with intense spells and lightning is likely to occur at isolated places in Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Dehradun and Chamoli districts of the state on August 24-25.

The MeT department predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall with intense spells likely to occur at isolated places in Dehradun, Pauri, Haridwar, Tehri, Nainital, Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar districts on August 26 and 27.

Uttarakhand has already received 764.3 mm of rainfall from June to August 19 compared to the normal range of 848 mm. Bageshwar has received the maximum rainfall while Uttarkashi has received the least rainfall.

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