Landslide Blocks Highway, Snaps Off Villages In Niti Valley

Connectivity with Dronagiri, Garpak, Malari and Gamshali villages in Niti Valley were snapped off after the highway was blocked following a landslide on Saturday morning. Work is on to clear the debris and the traffic movement is likely to be restored in a day or two, officials said.

Chamoli (Uttarakhand): The national highway connecting Niti Valley to Joshimath has been closed for vehicular traffic after a massive landslide in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district today.

A video of the incident surfaced, revealing the terrifying moments as bounders and debris were seen falling on the highway. No injuries or casualties were reported. The highway is a major link to many villages of Niti Valley as well as India-China border.

According to information, it may take one to two days to allow traffic movement on this highway. Local people are facing a lot of problems due to the restriction on traffic movement. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is engaged in clearing the debris and reopening the highway.

The connectivity to remote villages namely Dronagiri, Garpak, Malari and Gamshali of Niti Valley has been snapped off from the tehsil headquarters in Joshimath following the highway's closure.

Currently, locals are being forced to travel on foot due to the closure of the highway. BRO has already deployed Poklane machines at the landslide site, so that the highway can be reopened as soon as possible.

BRO commander Ankur Mahajan said that the landslide occurred near Laata in Niti Valley. There were similar landslides in the area since yesterday and the highway is expected to become operational by tomorrow morning, Mahajan said.

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