By Arun Pratap Singh
Uttarkashi, 25 Aug: Persistent heavy rainfall in Uttarkashi district has thrown normal life out of gear, and the Gangotri and Yamunotri highways continue to remain blocked at several points due to landslides, road subsidence, and continuous rockfalls. The disruption has led to long queues of stranded vehicles on both sides of the highways, causing immense hardship to commuters and pilgrims.
On the Gangotri highway, incessant rockfalls near Nalupani have severely hindered the clearance operations of the Border Roads Organisation, leaving travellers waiting for hours with no respite.
The Gangotri highway was completely blocked this morning near Sainj, Naluna, and Nalupani, with the situation at Nalupani being particularly precarious due to an ongoing landslide that continues to bring down stones and boulders.
At the same time, the Yamunotri highway has also been closed, as several sections of the road have caved in and debris continues to fall, completely halting vehicular movement. Residents of Yamuna Dham and nearby villages are being compelled to walk several kilometres to reach the tehsil headquarters for essential work and have appealed to the National Highway division to expedite the reopening of the route.
Executive Engineer of the NH division, Manoj Rawat, has conceded that repeated blockages are occurring due to relentless erosion and falling debris, but he assured that restoration efforts are underway despite the adverse conditions. Meanwhile, a fresh issue of concern has emerged at Syana Chatti, where a lake is forming in the Yamuna River due to excessive accumulation of debris and boulders from Kuprada Khadd and other tributaries. Panni Lal, Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department, explained that the rising riverbed is obstructing the natural outflow. He added that machinery has been deployed to mitigate the situation.
