Uttarakhand rain disaster: Rani Pokhari bridge on Dehradun Rishikesh highway collapses

A piece of sad news is coming in from Dehradun where a bridge connecting Dehradun to Rishikesh over the Jakhan river near Pokhari village has collapsed. It happened due to the heavy rainfall that continues to create havoc in the state. The pictures that have come in from the site are quite disturbing. Many vehicles can be seen stuck in the crack of the bridge.

Rani Pokhari bridge

Taking to their Instagram handle, ANI shared the news and wrote, "A bridge at Jakhan river on Ranipokhari-Rishikesh highway collapses in Dehradun, Uttarakhand District Magistrate R Rajesh Kumar says traffic on the route has been halted." In the pictures, we can see a truck that has turned upside down and a few others remained stranded even as a river continued to flow under the broken bridge. Meanwhile, a couple of cars also washed away after the bridge collapsed on Dehradun Rishikesh Highway.

"A part of the bridge over Jakhan river at Rani Pokhari on Dehradun-Rishikesh road has collapsed due to heavy rain and strong current of water. The public is requested to please not use the above route and use other alternative routes," Uttarakhand Police said in a tweet (roughly translated from Hindi).

For the unversed, Uttrakhand has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the past three-four days. Incessant rain in Dehradun for the last 48 hours has wreaked havoc because of which the Maldevata-Sahasradhara link road has been submerged in the river for several meters.

The Rishikesh-Devprayag, Rishikesh-Tehri and Dehradun-Mussoorie roads have been closed due to landslides at several places. The police have also advised travellers to avoid these areas area till the weather becomes normal.

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