Heavy rains wash away vital bridge on way to Kedarnath

Dehradun, Jun 25: Heavy rains washed away a vital bridge over Mandakini river between Sonprayag and Gaurikund on way to Kedarnath in Himachal Pradesh this evening, official said.

Heavy rains have sent the Mandakini river into spate as a result of which the motor bridge between Sonprayag and Gaurikund on way to the Himalayan shrine was washed away, Rudraprayag District Magistrate Raghav Langer said.

However, there was no casualty. The bridge was very important as it was used for vehicular traffic on way to Kedarnath, the DM said.

With the bridge being washed away, the vehicular traffic will not be allowed to go beyond Sonprayag when the yatra is resumed, he said.

Yatra to Kedarnath was suspended earlier today with heavy rains lashing Rudraprayag district since last night amid a MeT department warning of heavy rain and landslides in high altitude areas of the state for the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile, an SDRF release this evening said its personnel rescued a total of 400 pilgrims stranded due to heavy rains at different points on yatra routes and moved them safely to their destinations.

PTI