Uttarakhand: Rishikesh-Badrinath highway blocked due to landslide, CM Dhami monitoring situation

DEHRADUN: The Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway near Karnaprayag has been blocked due to falling mountain debris following continuous rainfall, officials said on Saturday.

According to reports, the highway remains closed, with debris falling at multiple locations, including Animath and Pagal Nala in the Jyotirmath Kotwali region. Authorities are working to clear the route and restore traffic movement.

The highway was temporarily closed on Friday morning after a significant avalanche in the Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is closely monitoring the ongoing rescue and clearance operations from the CM residence and remains in constant touch with officials present at the site to ensure swift action.

Several workers engaged in road construction got trapped under huge blocks of snow after a massive avalanche struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Friday.

Officials reported that construction workers from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp were working in the border area of Mana village in Badrinath when the avalanche occurred.

Meanwhile, according to the latest updates, a total of 33 BRO workers trapped under an avalanche near Mana village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district have been rescued, officials said on Saturday.

Speaking to ANI, State Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said, “33 workers have been rescued. Two of the 57 workers had gone on leave, so there were only 55 workers there.”

Meanwhile, the efforts to rescue 22 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers are still underway.

The Uttarakhand government has issued the following helpline numbers: Mobile No: 8218867005, 9058441404; Telephone No: 0135 2664315; Toll-Free No: 1070.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Minister Dhami and assured him that the government’s priority was to safely evacuate the people trapped in the incident.

“Spoke to Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Dhami ji, DG ITBP, and DG NDRF regarding the glacier burst in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. Our priority is to safely evacuate the people trapped in the accident,” he said. (ANI)