Trouble for Char Dham pilgrims? Orange alert in Uttarakhand as heavy rain, landslides disrupt roads, air services
Incessant rain and falling debris from the hillsides have now affected movement on the Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli and the Kedarnath Yatra route in Rudraprayag
Incessant rain and falling debris from the hillsides have now affected movement on the Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli and the Kedarnath Yatra route in Rudraprayag.
Incessant rain and falling debris from the hillsides have now affected movement on the Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli and the Kedarnath Yatra route in Rudraprayag.
Incessant rain and falling debris from the hillsides have now affected movement on the Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli and the Kedarnath Yatra route in Rudraprayag.
A fresh spell of Southwest monsoon rainfall has been lashing out across Uttarakhand, sparking an orange alert from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) over the next few days.
The landslides, which began earlier this week, had already blocked roads in Bageshwar and Pithoragarh and damaged roads in Haldwani.
The incessant rain and falling debris from the hillsides have now affected movement on the Badrinath National Highway in the Chamoli district and the Kedarnath Yatra route in the Rudraprayag district.
As a result, Char Dham pilgrims, who are often the most susceptible to weather changes here, have been urged by the authorities to regularly check for weather updates before beginning their journey.
The Uttarakhand government has already activated emergency response measures, with SMS weather alerts constantly being issued to residents in vulnerable areas.
Char Dham travel has particularly been affected at the Gulabkoti stretch of the Badrinath Highway, which has been blocked for road-clearing work, while some pilgrims were already stranded at the Sirobagad stretch of the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway, a News18 report said.
Authorities have also deployed JCBs to clear the Sonprayag-Munkatiya road, which had been hit by a mixture of rocks and debris.
Meanwhile, the weather conditions have also impacted eight helicopter services to Kedarnath, which a large number of passengers depend on, until July 5. This pause may be extended depending on how weather conditions will evolve over the course of the week.
Overnight rainfall in several spots across the state have also led to the Alaknanda and Sonprayag rivers swelling up, and their water levels nearing the danger mark.
Official data shows that Bageshwar, where schools are closed on Thursday, saw the highest rainfall of 98mm on Wednesday, while Dehradun, Pithoragarh, and Champawat all recorded 60-62mm over that day.
With heavy rainfall set to follow over the next few days, despite the IMD downgrading the orange alert to a yellow later this week—for now—Char Dham travellers can continue to expect road closures as restoration work continues across the state.
Travellers have also been advised not to visit rivers, waterfalls, swollen streams, and other such landslide-prone areas while the monsoons persist.