The Rishikesh Badrinath National Highway Closed # Massive Landslide

Over a thousand people have been stranded after the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway was closed on Friday near Vishnuprayag in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district because of a landslide, following which hundreds of pilgrims were feared stranded at Gopeshwar. The highway has remained closed near Vishnuprayag, one of the five confluences of the Alaknanda river, between Joshimath and Badrinath. The landslide happened in the afternoon after large boulders rolled down the Hathi Pahar mountain. The area between the highway and Alaknanda river was filled with debris. Nearly 14000 pilgrims were left stranded at various places in Chamoli district after a massive landslide blocked the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway. Though the district administration has arranged for safety of travellers at various places along the way, witnesses said that it is a big landslide and the highway could take a long time to be cleared. Due to the landslide, pilgrims who were on their way to Badrinath have temporarily stopped at Joshimath, Pipalkoti and Karnaprayag, the district magistrate confirmed. After the landslide, at least 1,183 pilgrims were stopped in Govindghat, 900 at Joshimath and 450 at Pandukeshwar from moving ahead. They have been accommodated in nearby hotels, lodges, gurdwaras and guest houses. Around 11000 pilgrims were at Badrinath for darshan at the time of the calamity.