Uttarakhand: Bridge swept off on Jyotirmath-Malari highway, Niti Valley villages marooned in Chamoli

A swollen Tamak stream washed away the Jyotirmath-Malari highway bridge at 2 am, snapping access to more than a dozen border villages and choking key pilgrimage routes in rain-battered Chamoli.

Gopeshwar: A motorable bridge on the Jyotirmath-Malari highway in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district got washed away due to heavy rains, severing connectivity to more than a dozen villages in the border area of the ​​​​Niti Valley.

Heavy rains in the upstream swelled the seasonal Tamak stream, and its gushing waters damaged the bridge around 2 am on Sunday, said district administration officials.

There is no report of any loss of life in this incident that occurred in this area located on the banks of Dhauliganga, a tributary of the Alaknanda river.

Meanwhile, the Badrinath National Highway has been closed after debris accumulated at two places -- Bhanirpani and Paaglanala -- between Chamoli and Jyotirmath. The district administration said that debris is being removed with machines to restore traffic on the route.

The Kund-Chamoli National Highway connecting Kedarnath to Chamoli is also blocked due to a landslide near Bairagana, and efforts are on to open it.