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Kedarnath Yatra suspended after landslide blocks trek route near Gaurikund
Kedarnath Yatra was suspended after a landslide blocked the Gaurikund trek, while heavy rain triggered road closures and fresh IMD alerts across Uttarakhand.
The Kedarnath Yatra trek was suspended on Thursday after a major landslide blocked the pedestrian route near Gaurikund, as heavy rainfall triggered landslides and road closures across Uttarakhand, prompting authorities to issue fresh weather warnings.
Officials said mud, boulders and an uprooted tree blocked the route. Pilgrims were stopped at Sonprayag and will be allowed to proceed only after the route is declared safe.
District disaster management officer, Rudraprayag, Nandan Singh Rajwar said rescue and relief teams, along with officials from the concerned departments, were rushed to the site immediately after information about the landslide was received.
“Efforts to clear the debris and restore the route are being carried out on a war footing,” Rajwar said, adding that continuous rainfall and intermittent stone and mudslides from the hillside were hampering restoration work.
He appealed to devotees to remain patient and avoid proceeding towards Kedarnath without official permission. Authorities said the route would be reopened only after a thorough safety inspection.
Assistant engineer at the Public Works Department (PWD), Guptkashi, Sachin Panwar said, “Two junior engineers along with PWD teams have been deployed to clear the debris, but intermittent rainfall is posing challenges. Telephone connectivity in the area has also been disrupted due to snapped lines.”
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall continued to trigger landslides and road blockages across several districts of Uttarakhand.
According to officials of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in Uttarkashi district, an additional 100 cusecs of water was released into the Bhagirathi River from 6.15 am on Thursday. Residents living downstream were advised to stay away from riverbanks and shift children and livestock to safer locations.
Traffic was disrupted after a tree collapsed on the Tekhla-Mahidanda road near Uttarkashi town along the Bhagirathi valley. Teams from the PWD and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were deployed to clear the route.
The Yamunotri National Highway (NH-134) also witnessed multiple disruptions owing to landslides and falling boulders near Paligad, Durbil, Badiya and Hanuman Chatti. Clearance teams carried out boulder-breaking and debris-removal operations, reopening the highway at Jaljarghat near Ranachatti and later near Badiya. Authorities said traffic movement was temporarily restored at major landslide-prone stretches, including the Selaibend rockfall zone and the Junglechatti-Durbil bend.
In Chamoli district, the Pokhri-Rudraprayag road was blocked on Thursday afternoon following a massive mudslide and boulder fall. Heavy machinery was pressed into service to restore connectivity, officials said.
According to the Meteorological Centre in Dehradun, Uttarakhand received 14.4 mm of rainfall against the normal 13.8 mm during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Thursday, an excess of 4%.
Rudraprayag recorded 39.7 mm of rainfall against the normal 27.9 mm, an excess of 42%, while Chamoli received 34.3 mm against the normal 9.9 mm, registering an excess of 246%. Bageshwar recorded 28 mm of rainfall against the normal 5.5 mm, an excess of 409%.
Among towns, Lohaghat recorded 32 mm of rainfall, followed by Jainti (20.5 mm), Chorgalia (20 mm), Mukteshwar (15 mm), Raiwala (14.5 mm), Bhimtal (12.5 mm), Sonprayag (11 mm), Kalsi (10 mm), Nainital (9.5 mm), Kaladhungi (7 mm) and Haldwani (6 mm) between 8.30 am and 1 pm on Thursday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Friday, warning of heavy rainfall at isolated places in Pauri, Dehradun, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar and Nainital districts.
The IMD has also warned of heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and lightning in several areas, including Gangotri, Yamunotri, Barkot, Bhatwari, Harsil, Mussoorie, Roorkee, Devprayag, Srinagar, Kotdwar, Ranikhet and Jageshwar Dham, over the next 24 hours. Residents and tourists have been advised to exercise caution and avoid unnecessary travel in vulnerable areas.
