U'khand rains disrupt Badrinath, Kailash Mansarovar Yatras

Dehradun: Heavy rains have disrupted the annual Badrinath and Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage in Uttarakhand as routes have been blocked at many places due to landslides, an official said on Saturday.

The Badrinath highway has been shut at the Lambagad area in Chamoli district. The 14th group of pilgrims to the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has been held up at Didihaat.

However, the Sikh pilgrimage to the Hemkund Saheb was progressing fine as the routes leading to it were clear.

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The Ganga river is in spate and so are many other rivers in the state.

Cloudburst at Kunigaad in Gairsain has flattened two houses and a woman has gone missing, a district official said.

Heavy rains continue to lash Rudraprayag and the Gaurikund highway has been blocked at many places, leading to disruption of the Kedarnath Yatra.

The Gangotri and Yamunotri pilgrimages are progressing as the routes are clear despite rains lashing that part of the state, an official said.

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The Pauri-Kotdwar highway has been blocked due to debris near Gumkhal. The Rishikesh-Gangotri route was blocked on Friday near Agrakhal for sometime but has been cleared now.

According to the flood control units, the Ganga river was flowing above the warning levels at Haridwar and it was 40 cm above the warning level in Rishikesh.

After warning of heavy rains in Almora, all schools up to Class 12 have been closed for the next few days.

IANS