Heavy rains continue in Uttarakhand; Kedarnath Yatra disrupted

Dehradun: Heavy rains continued to affect most parts of Uttarakhand damaging the trek to Kedarnath, officials said on Saturday.

Rudraprayag District Magistrate Raghav Langar informed reporters that repair work is underway and the trek is likely to be opened for pilgrims -- stranded on both sides -- by Monday. 

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel have been pressed into service to take pilgrims of the Chaar Dhaam Yatra from Kedarnath and Linchauli to Soneprayag.

Several hectares of agriculture land has been inundated after a cloud burst in Uttarkashi. The Ganga in Haridwar is inching close to the danger mark. People living in the low lying areas and on the banks of Ganga have been asked to move out to safer places.

Debris from hills has been washed to the main Gangotri road, blocking traffic at Gangnani and efforts are on to clear the highway. Badrinath and Yamunotri pilgrimage, however, are not affected, an official told IANS.

The overnight rains in Uttarkashi region have forced residents in Muradi, Devlasari and Naugaon villages to move to higher places as the seasonal rivers in these areas are in spate and threaten to flood the villages.

The Regional Met office has predicted moderate to heavy rainfall in some parts of the state in the next 24 hours.