Uttarakhand: Badrinath national highway blocked due to falling debris

Chamoli (Uttarakhand) [India], July 5 (ANI): Vehicular movement on the Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli district was halted for several hours on Friday morning due to the falling and piling up of debris at two places in Chamoli district.

The disruption affected the busy Bhanerpani-Pipalkoti Naga Panchayata road and Angthala road, leaving many commuters and locals stranded.

According to Chamoli Police, debris near Angthala in the Kotwali Chamoli area caused the Badrinath National Highway to be blocked. The incident was reported at around 6.54 am. Similarly, falling debris between Bhanerpani (Pipalkoti) and the Nagar Panchayat Pipalkoti area was reported at around 6.49 am.

These incidents halted vehicular movement on the Badrinath National Highway.

Local authorities and police launched an operation to clear the debris, and traffic was resumed at both locations only after three hours.

“The blocked travel route on the Badrinath National Highway near Bhanerpani (Pipalkoti) in the Kotwali Chamoli area is now open for traffic,” the police said in a post on X.

“The blocked road near Bhanerpani and the old Nagar Panchayat Pipalkoti area is now cleared,” it said in another post.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert on Friday for extremely heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand and other states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Uttarakhand is expected to receive heavy (64.5-115.5 m) to very heavy (115.5-204.44 mm) and extremely heavy rainfall (>204.4 mm) from July 3 to July 6. Whereas, on July 7, the state is expected to receive isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall, the IMD said. (ANI)