At least 50 major landslides occurred in just four road stretches in calamity-torn Uttarakhand, where hundreds of pilgrims are feared to have perished in flash floods, an official said.
"Extensive damage has been done to lives and property due to torrential rains, cloudbursts and landslides between June 15 and 17. Vital road and infrastructure has been destroyed... A number of bridges have been washed away or irreparably damaged," the official told PTI quoting a preliminary report from Uttarakhand.
At least 50 major landslides occurred at four stretches -- Rudraprayag-Gaurikund, Rishikesh-Joshimath-Mana, Rishikesh- Dharasu-Gangotri and Pithoragarh-Ghatiabgarh," the official said, adding these stretches alone saw 40 major formation breaches.
Rishikesh-Joshimath-Mana road, which leads to the famous Badrinath shrine, has been quite seriously affected and "beyond Joshimath, up to Mana, serious damage has occurred. Two
offshoots - Simli-Gwaldham and Joshimath-Malari are closed," the official said, adding that as far as Risikesh-Dharasu- Gangotri road was concerned, "road beyond Dharasu is a major concern."
More than 3000 people from Border Roads Organisation's (BRO) Shivalik and Hirak projects are working on a war footing in calamity-ravaged stretches to restore vital links while about 50 excavators, dozers and JCBs have been pressed into service, the official said.
