Pauri Garhwal (Uttarakhand) [India], June 28 (ANI): Passenger movement has been temporarily halted after the Badrinath-Rishikesh highway was blocked due to falling debris at Sirobgad on Saturday. The heavy rainfall across several districts in Uttarakhand led to the blockage, forcing passengers travelling to Badrinath, Kedarnath, and Hemkund Sahib to stop at safe locations.

Authorities have mobilised JCB machines to clear the obstructions and restore normal movement on the highway.

Srinagar Pauri Garhwal District Circle Officer (CO) Anuj Kumar told ANI that police presence has been established at both ends of the blocked highway.

'Work is underway on a war footing to open the highway,' Kumar said, emphasising the urgency of the situation.

The disruption comes after heavy rains across Uttarakhand, which have triggered several blockages across the state.

Meanwhile, continuous rainfall in Uttarakhand has caused severe disruptions, including the blockage of the National Highway near Nandprayag and Bhaneropani.

In a post on the social media platform X, Chamoli Police Uttarakhand stated, 'The Badrinath National Highway is blocked near Nandprayag and Bhanerpani. Work is underway to open the road.

'The National Highway near Nandprayag is a critical route for pilgrims travelling to Kedarnath, making the clearance of the road a priority.

In another development, the district authorities in Rudraprayag restricted movement on the Sonprayag-Munkatiya road on Friday due to persistent rainfall.

The road, which serves as a base point for pilgrims travelling to Kedarnath, was obstructed entirely for the movement of passengers due to continuous debris and stones falling near the Sonprayag shuttle bridge and in the sliding zone area near Munkatiya.

The Kedarnath Dham Yatra pilgrims were halted at Sonprayag and Gaurikund for safety reasons. After the debris was cleared, the movement of pilgrims resumed, Rudraprayag Police said in a statement.

The opening and closing of the road is being controlled, and the movement of passengers is being ensured with extra caution by the concerned working agency, administrative officials and police.

Once the road was cleared, pilgrims were allowed to continue on the Kedarnath Dham Yatra route, while those returning from Gaurikund were brought towards Sonprayag.

The district police have appealed to pilgrims visiting the Kedarnath Dham to exercise extra caution during the Kedarnath Dham Yatra and monitor the weather forecast.

Furthermore, the search and rescue operation continued for the second day on the Alaknanda River today to locate missing persons from a bus accident that occurred in Rudraprayag on Thursday. The accident claimed the lives of four people.

The death toll from the incident rose to four after the body of a missing passenger was recovered near the Srinagar dam in Pauri Garhwal, about 40 kilometres from the accident site. (ANI)