Monsoon Fury Strikes: Badrinath Highway Partially Washed Away, Landslides Block Routes, and Rivers Swell, Raising Concerns Across the State.
August 3, 2025, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India: The monsoon has really shown its strength in Uttarakhand over the past 24 hours, causing a lot of damage and disruption. Heavy rain has caused damage to important infrastructure, triggered many landslides, and forced officials to issue flood alerts, making this a difficult Sunday for both citizens and pilgrims.
One of the most worrying events happened on the important Badrinath Highway at the Hanuman Chatti bridge. The abutment and safety wall on both sides of the bridge were sadly washed away when a lot of rain fell in the higher reaches, especially near the beautiful Valley of Flowers. This has made it very hard for pilgrims going to the holy Badrinath shrine, who are now being told to walk across the damaged bridge, which is a scary situation for many.
Safety First: Traffic Restrictions and Watchful Officials
“The general reserve engineer force looked at the damage and, as a safety measure, heavy vehicles were not allowed,” said Joshimath Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) C.S. Vashisht. He went on to say, “Only light vehicles up to 9 tons are allowed, and police teams are on the scene for safety.” Even if they are dealing with the effects of the rain, it is evident that the authorities are putting the safety of tourists first.
In the meantime, Haridwar has been put on flood alert after the Vishnuprayag barrage let out a lot of water—70 cumecs—into the already rising Alaknanda river. The overall amount of water flowing in the area went up from 112 to 182 cumecs, which led to urgent warnings for all regions downstream.
Mayur Dixit, the Haridwar District Magistrate, has issued a strong warning, telling people to stay away from riverbanks and only bathe in safe, approved spots. Dixit stressed that “disaster management teams are still on high alert.” He also pointed out that Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Dobhal and the DM himself went to the busy Har Ki Pauri together to check on security, sanitation, and crowd control measures, which was very important at this time of higher danger.
The Ganga’s water level at the Bhimgoda barrage was 291.95 meters as of 2 PM on Sunday. This is good news because it is still below the alert limit of 293 meters. The water input was 96,954 cusecs, and the outflow was 87,883 cusecs. The fact that it is being watched all the time shows how careful they are.
Roadblocks and rescues: effects all around the state
As expected, the heavy rain has caused many roads to close. A shocking 83 routes are closed right now because of landslides, making travel very difficult. There are 24 roads that the Public Works Department (PWD) is in charge of and 52 that the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and the rural works department are in charge of. Pithoragarh district seems to be the most hit, with a shocking 25 road closures, including three important national roads. This is a big problem for people who need to get around and for people who transport goods.
In a different, scary event, four persons were hurt when a pickup truck fell into the Yamuna River in Nainbagh on Sunday. It really makes you think about how dangerous the slippery conditions and swelling rivers are.
Traffic on the Gangotri Highway (NH-108) in Uttarkashi will stay controlled until August 5th because work to remove debris from the nearby Kujjan-Tihar rural route is still going on. “Authorities have set specific times for vehicles to move to avoid accidents,” an official said, advising visitors to be patient and follow safety rules.
Rainfall Patterns and Warnings for the Future
The state as a whole had 9.6 mm of rain in the 24 hours before 8:30 AM on Sunday. Haridwar had the most rain, with an incredible 26.5 mm, which is 96% more than its normal amount for this time of year. Bageshwar had a big excess of 183%, but Tehri and Almora had big shortages, which shows how localized these heavy rains were.
In the middle of all the commotion, there is a glimmer of hope: the Kedarnath Yatra, which is held in honor of the goddess, is still going on. Security teams are helping pilgrims make their way across the difficult terrain near Gaurikund.
But the prediction also has some bad news. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange signal for Nainital, Champawat, and Bageshwar on Monday, which means that further heavy rain is likely to fall. Parts of the Kumaon and Garhwal areas are also expected to get further heavy rain until Wednesday. Residents and visitors are asked to stay up to speed on official warnings and be very careful.