After landslides disrupted the Yamunotri National Highway, authorities in Uttarkashi are actively evacuating stranded devotees using temporary routes.
Police, SDRF, NDRF, and forest officials are ensuring safe passage, while efforts to restore the highway are underway.
District Magistrate Prashant Arya is overseeing the operations to facilitate smooth travel for pilgrims.
Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) [India], July 2 (ANI): Devotees are being transported to safer places using transportation facilities near Silai Band and Ojari, after heavy rains and landslides damaged the Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi district. Police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and forest officials are helping stranded people reach safety through temporary routes. In a post on X, Uttarkashi Police stated, "On the Yamunotri National Highway, devotees are being transported to their destinations via transportation facilities near Silai Band and Ojari."
"The police, SDRF, NDRF, and forest department are safely guiding stranded devotees and local people through temporary routes (trails)," the post reads. Work is being done on a war footing to restore the Yamunotri National Highway damaged by heavy rains and landslides in Uttarkashi district. The washed-out road near Silai Band is likely to open by Tuesday evening. According to a release, work is also underway with heavy machines in Ojri. Seven Poklane and JCB machines are engaged day and night from both sides for the said work.
District Magistrate Prashant Arya is constantly present in the disaster-affected areas in the region and monitoring the relief and rehabilitation work there. While the road is being restored at a fast pace, the devotees who have come to visit Yamunotri Dham are being safely transported to their destination through a transhipment system from Ojri to Silai Band on foot.
The District Magistrate said that the priority of the administration is to make the road routes smooth as soon as possible and provide all possible assistance to the pilgrims and local citizens. He has instructed all the teams deployed on the spot to work with full sensitivity and vigilance. The District Magistrate reached Ojri from Silai Band on foot on Tuesday. During this, while talking to pedestrians, he spoke about the transhipment arrangements made by the administration to reach their destination. (ANI)