District Magistrate confirms that around 800 have resumed journey onwards; road repair in progress
Pilgrims stranded along the route. Pics/PTI
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Nearly 800 of the 2,000 people stranded after a landslide in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district have resumed their onward journey and work is on to clear the debris, officials said on Saturday.
The Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway was closed near Vishnuprayag, one of the five confluences of Alaknanda river, between Joshimath (also known as Jyotirmath) and Badrinath, the famous pilgrim spot in the hill state. Huge boulders had rolled down the Hathi Pahar mountain on Friday afternoon blocking the highway.
Border Roads Organisation officials clear the path near Vishnuprayag on the Badrinath route
CM Trivendra Singh Rawat has directed the Secretary of Disaster Management Department, Amit Negi, to monitor the situation.
Chamoli District Magistrate Ashish Joshi confirmed 800 have been resumed their onward journey. "As of now, 1,200 people are still stranded at different places in Vishnuprayag, Pandukeshwar and Govindghat.
Food and lodging arrangements have been made for the stranded people," an official said. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) personnel have been working on a war footing and according to senior officials the highway will be reopened for traffic soon.
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