Landslides in Chamoli block Chardham yatra

The ongoing Chardham yatra remained suspended on the second consecutive day on Friday because of fresh landslides that hit roads on the yatra route in Chamoli district. 

Inclement weather and frequent landslides triggered by rains caused havoc along the yatra route the entire day and thousands of pilgrims were stranded.

The continuous sliding of hills the whole day could not allow free movement of the traffic on the yatra route and thousands of tourists, mostly the Chardham yatra pilgrims, were caught amid traffic jams leading to severe discomfort. As a precautionary measure, the Chamoli district administration has alerted other districts about the road blockage and asked them to make pilgrims halt in safe places in their respective districts.

According to officials, landslides struck a number of places between Chamoli and Joshimath, forcing the administration to halt the pilgrimage temporarily since Thursday morning. The road was closed after boulders started falling from more than five landslide-prone hills near Birahi in the district.

Chamoli Superintendent of Police, P Renuka Devi, told The Pioneer over phone that there are five to six major landslides near Birahi. “There are total washout at several places. The officials of BRO are on their toes and we hope to open the route for traffic by Saturday afternoon,” she added.

The ongoing Chardham yatra was suspended by the administration after landslides which started occurring since Thursday morning. Though the condition was improving by late on Thursday, fresh landslides on Friday morning blocked the road again. “The work of clearing debris on the route is on and we hope to open the road for traffic by tomorrow,” an official said.

Meanwhile, efforts are on to make sure that the pilgrims who have been stranded on the route, do not face any major problems. The administration and the police officials have been asked to arrange for necessary things for those stranded temporarily. The work of removing debris from the roads is on and extra personnel of the Border Road Organisation (BRO) have been deployed to clear them and open for vehicular traffic as soon as possible.

Senior officials said that pilgrims have been advised to halt at Haridwar, Rishikesh and other safer areas on the route till the road opens for traffic. “We have communicated the message to all important police stations on the yatra route and pilgrims are being asked to halt their journeys at safe places till the roads open,” P Renuka Devi added.

http://dailypioneer.com