The spate of landslides and boulder falls witnessed every year during the rainy season has continued to cause inconvenience to both the local residents and visitors from outside Uttarakhand.
The Rishikesh Badrinath national highway number 58 was blocked by debris at lambagadh slide zone late on Tuesday evening and has remained blocked to traffic on Wednesday. Personnel of the Border Roads Organisation were trying to extricate a car trapped in the debris here as this stretch of the national highway cannot be reopened for traffic without removing the damaged vehicle from the road.
Pilgrims and local residents continue to face problems due to the recurring landslides and boulder falls that cause blockage of roads during the rainy season. In the past years, crores of rupees have been spent purportedly on treatment of the lambagadh slide zone which has remained active. As a result, land and debris slides have become a routine feature here during the rainy season every year. At times, the road gets blocked even after light to medium rainfall.
local residents and those involved in varied commercial activities in the region point out that every year before the start of the Char Dham Yatra, the authorities claim that the road will be cleared to traffic swiftly in case of blockage. However, considering various factors, such targets become tougher to meet during the rains.
This year too, this road has been blocked on more than 20 instances within a period of one month. In the slide zone, light to medium rainfall cause the rocks and debris to slide down.
The stretch of the national highway to Badrinath which was blocked at lambagadh on Tuesday, remained blocked to traffic on Wednesday too till the time of this news report being filed.