The rains being experienced in the mountainous regions have increased travails for the travellers and officials responsible for keeping the roads open for traffic. On Monday the national highway to Badrinath got blocked to traffic at two spots causing considerable inconvenience to the people. The road got blocked at about 6 AM and could be cleared and reopened for traffic at about 2:30 PM.
Due to the heavy rains being experienced in this region of Chamoli district especially during the nights, the national highway to Badrinath is getting blocked at the lambagad slide zone frequently. The authorities are deploying heavy machinery to clear the road for traffic at this slide zone. At about 6 AM on Monday, the route to Badrinath was blocked by boulders at the lambagad slide zone and at Radang Bend. Workers of the Border Roads Organisation along with national highways authority also using heavy machinery, toiled for about eight bours after which the road could be reopened for traffic. The sub divisional magistrate Yogendra Singh said that six mechanical excavators have been deployed at the lambagad slide zone. The work for clearing the road is started as soon as the road is blocked. However, on Monday, it took longer to clear the road and reopen it to traffic due to rise in the water in the lambagad nullah. At spots like these, the road tends to get blocked by debris even after medium intensity rain.