Uttarakhand: Roadblock near Chhinka after boulder rolls off hill

Chamoli (Uttarakhand) [India] : Following a torrential downpour in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, a boulder fell from a hill near Chhinka, causing a roadblock on Thursday morning.

Chamoli Police took to its official Twitter handle to post, “The road has been blocked due to a boulder falling from the hill near Chhinka.” Earlier, on Thursday, the Badrinath National Highway (NH-7) was blocked due to falling boulders and debris from the hill, on a highway near Pipalkotim, on accont of heavy and unrelentng rainfall. The same highway was blocked at several other points including Pagalnala, Gulabkoti and Helang, following the landslides in the region in the face of heavy rainfall. Taking precautionary measures, Chamoli district administration has stopped pilgrims at relatively safer places such as Gauchar, Karnprayag, and Nandprayag.

As the monsoon fury continued over the northwestern Himalayan region, several roads were blocked and scores of people were stuck and stranded due to landslides. Even in the throes of nature’s fury and unforgivig elements, some people attemped daring passages through dangerous terrains, putting their lives at risk.

In Dharali, on the Gangotri Highway, drivers at the wheels of big commercial vehicles risked their lives trying to commute on the highway. The State Disaster Operation Centre at the state secretariat was tracking the situation closely in light of alerts from the Met department, officials said.