Heavy rain continued to disrupt Uttarakhand on Sunday, keeping the Char Dham pilgrand Valley of Flowers closed for the second consecutive day. The weather emergency also left 136 mountaineers stranded, while one death was reported.

The disruption affected roads, air travel and tourist movement across the state. Authorities urged residents and visitors to avoid unnecessary journeys as the Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert for heavy rain in most districts for Monday.

Landslides repeatedly block Badrinath route

The Rishikesh–Badrinath highway remained largely closed at Sirohbagarh, where fresh debris kept falling from the hillside throughout the day. Road movement resumed briefly after National Highways authorities used a JCB to clear the route at about 12:30 PM.

Another slide struck after one:00 PM, forcing the highway to close again. District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said falling debris had repeatedly affected traffic, while several JCB machines continued work to reopen the road.

Conditions were also worsening at Perthadip on the Badrinath highway. Water was coming down with the landslide material, and broken pine trees were falling onto the road. The affected stretch expanded from 20 metres to about 80 metres, leaving a continuing risk to traffic.

Bus trapped as debris hits motor road

A bus travelling from Rishikesh towards Baintalakhala became stuck when a sudden landslide covered the Bijpur–Paniyala motor road. The vehicle narrowly avoided going off the road during the incident.

The driver safely brought all 20 passengers out of the bus. Traffic on the route remained affected for about 3 hours after the debris fell.

Valley of Flowers closed to tourists

The Valley of Flowers was closed to visitors on Sunday after the weather office warned of rain, lightning and snowfall. About 100 tourists were waiting in Ghangharia for access to the park.

Ashish Jiwan, range officer of the Valley of Flowers park, said visitor movement would remain suspended while conditions were unsafe. The valley will reopen when the weather improves.

The Char Dham journey, covering Kedarnath, Badrinath and Gangotri among the named pilgrroutes, also remained suspended for a second day because of the adverse weather. The supplied update does not provide separate reopening times for the pilgrroutes.

Dehradun flights diverted or delayed

Bad weather continued to disrupt flight operations at Dehradun airport. 2 IndiGo services, one arriving from Mumbai and another from Kolkata, were diverted to Delhi after circling in the air.

The Mumbai flight was scheduled for 11:00 AM, while the Kolkata service was due at 12:00 PM. Several other flights reached Dehradun later than scheduled.

  • The IndiGo service from Jaipur arrived at 11:52 AM AM instead of 11:25 AM AM.
  • The Air India Express flight from Bengaluru reached around one:00 PM instead of 12:20 PM PM.
  • The IndiGo flight from Hyderabad arrived at one:13 PM instead of 12:50 PM PM.
  • The Air India service from Delhi reached at one:20 PM instead of one:00 PM.
  • The IndiGo Delhi flight arrived at 3:16 AM PM instead of one:35 PM.
  • The Air India service from Mumbai reached at 2:43 AM PM instead of 2:20 AM PM.

Other evening flights were also reported to have reached late.

Heavy rain warning for Monday

The Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rain across most Uttarakhand districts on Monday and issued a yellow alert. The state administration instructed district magistrates to maintain special vigilance.

Tourists and members of the public were advised to avoid unnecessary travel while landslide-prone roads and other transport links remained vulnerable to further disruption.

Conclusion

Persistent rain left pilgrroutes, tourist attractions, highways and flights disrupted across Uttarakhand, with road-clearing work continuing and another day of heavy rain forecast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why was the Char Dham pilgrsuspended?

Adverse weather conditions forced the Char Dham journey to remain closed for a second day.

Q. Why was the Valley of Flowers closed?

The park was shut after warnings of rain, lightning and snowfall. About 100 tourists were waiting in Ghangharia.

Q. Which highway was repeatedly blocked?

The Rishikesh–Badrinath highway was repeatedly blocked by landslides at Sirohbagarh and Perthadip.

Q. How many passengers were on the trapped bus?

The bus carried 20 passengers, all of whom were safely brought out by the driver.

Q. What happened to flights at Dehradun airport?

2 flights were diverted to Delhi, while several other services arrived late because of poor weather.

Q. What warning has been issued for Monday?

The Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert for heavy rain in most districts of Uttarakhand.