Over 100 tourists rescued after heavy rainfall washes away bridge in Uttarakhand

More than a hundred tourists were evacuated to safety on Friday morning after they got stranded following heavy rainfall in Gondar on the trek route to the Madmaheshwar temple when a swollen river washed away a pedestrian bridge.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officials here said the bridge on the Markandeya river was washed away after heavy rains lashed the area late Thursday night and 106 tourists got stuck.

They said an SDRF team led by Inspector Anirudh Bhandari landed in Nanu, about five kilometres below the temple in Rudraprayag, in a helicopter and evacuated the tourists.

Madmaheshwar is one of the Panchkedar temples located at an altitude of around 11,000 ft in the upper Garhwal Himalayas.

Heavy overnight rains wreaked havoc at various places across Uttarakhand, flooding rivers whose waters washed out bridges and inundated houses and fields.

In view of an 'orange' alert of heavy rainfall issued in Dehradun, all schools in the city have been ordered by the administration to remain shut on Saturday.

Torrential rainfall around midnight on Thursday flooded the Balganga river in the Boodha Kedar area of Tehri Garhwal district and its waters gushed into homes, flooded fields and damaged roads and bridges, District Magistrate Mayur Dikshit said.

There were no casualties as people living in houses close to the riverbanks quickly moved to safer locations, he said, adding that the extent of damage is being estimated.

In Uttarkashi district, heavy rainfall after midnight flooded the Yamuna river whose muddy waters entered a parking lot at Jankichatti near the Yamunotri Dham.

Inhabited areas close to the banks of the Yamuna had to be promptly vacated, officials said.

The Gangotri national highway has been blocked due to debris falling from a hill near Thirang, ahead of Bhatwadi.

A motorcycle also got buried in the debris but its rider was safe

Due to excess rain at the origin of the Yamuna river, the temple complex in Yamunotri Dham has suffered heavy damage.

The temple committee office and kitchen have also been damaged, Purohit Mahasabha president Purushottam Uniyal said, adding that there was no loss of life.

The registration centre near the Ram temple on the Janki Chatti-Yamunotri trek route has also been damaged.

Uttarkashi District Magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht said the level of the Yamuna river is normal at present. The yatra to the Yamunotri Dham is also going on as usual.