Info on road blockades to be made available on DMMC website

In a welcome move, the state disaster management department has decided to update travellers on road blockades in the hills, triggered by landslides and other natural calamities, in their website.
Lack of information often leads to tourists remaining stranded for several hours, sometimes for days, due to road blocks. The website of Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (DMMC) will regularly update information about road blocks, saving many from long harrowing hours.
“We have observed that people coming to Uttarakhand often remain ignorant about road blockages taking place due to landslides, especially during monsoons. With an aim to put an end to tourists’ inconvenience, we have decided to apprise people about blocked roads on the DMMC website,” said C Ravishankar, additional secretary, disaster management department.
Cloudbursts and torrential rainfall in the first week of July in Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts prompted numerous landslides, stalling over 200 roads, including the national highways connecting Char Dham. This caused massive trouble to thousands of tourists who were either stopped by the administration from going ahead or remained stranded at various places. People usually depend on newspapers or the social media for information.
According to DMMC officials, link to the website would also be shared across districts so that information could be updated immediately by officials in case of major road blockades.
“People working in the fields are usually the first ones to learn about road blockade or when a blocked highway clears. It is, therefore, practical for us that district officials at various places also updates information on the website,” said a senior DMMC official.