Rishikesh-Badrinath highway opens for traffic after over 25 hours
The closed Rishikesh-Badrinath highway near Uma Maheshwar Ashram in Karnprayag, Uttarakhand was opened for vehicular movement after about 27 hours on Wednesday. The highway was closed on Tuesday morning near Uma Maheshwar Ashram (Karnprayag) due to debris. During this, about 200 vehicles were stuck on both sides of the highway. Although on Tuesday, the administration had diverted the route in view of the convenience of the passengers, but on Wednesday morning there was a traffic jam situation.
When the highway opened, all the vehicles left for their destination. Due to incessant rains in the hilly areas for the last three days, the hills and rocks along the highway were flooded. After the sun rose, the debris started loosening and the movement of highway vehicles came to a standstill on Badrinath Highway at 8 am on Tuesday near Uma Maheshwar Ashram. Along with this, the water line coming from Kaleshwar to Karnprayag was also damaged due to which the water supply in the city remained closed. After two days of hard work, NH installed rock breaking machines besides four JCBs on both sides of the highway and the highway was opened for light and then big vehicles at around 11 am on Wednesday.