Uttarakhand rain: 2,500 tourists stranded in Mussoorie as road link with Dehradun remains crippled

Dehradun, Sep 17 (PTI) Around 2,500 tourists were stuck in Mussoorie on Wednesday as the road from Dehradun to the popular hill station remained closed for the second consecutive day following cloudbursts and heavy rain in the capital.

While 13 people were killed in rain-related incidents in Dehradun on Tuesday, the downpour severely damaged the route to Mussoorie. Other parts of the state, too, were lashed by rain.

According to officials, an alternative Bailey bridge is being erected at Kolhukhet, and it is likely to become operational for light vehicles by Wednesday night.

The Dehradun-Mussoorie route was breached at several points, prompting police to appeal to tourists and visitors to stay wherever they were -- whether in hotels, homes or homestays -- till the road was restored.

"Debris has been partially cleared from two points along the route, but installation of an alternative bridge at Kolhukhet may take a little more time," a police officer in Mussoorie said.

At present, there are around 2,500 tourists stuck in Mussoorie due to the disruption of the route, he said.

The number was much higher on Tuesday, but several tourists left Mussoorie on Wednesday via Vikasnagar, a longer route that had been blocked by landslides on Tuesday but was opened for traffic on Wednesday, IAS officer Rahul Anand, who is supervising the installation of the bridge in Kolhukhet, told PTI.

"It will be completed in a couple of hours. We will then open the route for light vehicles. It will also help transport heavy machines like JCBs for clearing the rubble accumulated on the road beyond Kolhukhet," he said.

The distance between Dehradun and Mussoorie by the usual route, which is broken at places, is just 35 km, while it is around 80 km by the alternative route via Vikasnagar.

In view of the inconvenience to tourists who were forced to overstay in the hill town because of the disruption of the Dehradun-Mussoorie road, the Mussoorie Hotel Owners' Association, as a goodwill gesture, extended a complimentary stay facility to them for a night on Tuesday, another official said.

"That facility was just for one night on Tuesday. There is no complimentary stay facility in hotels in Mussoorie anymore. The road is also likely to be operational by late Wednesday, after which tourists can leave as per their convenience," Mussoorie Hotel Owners' Association president Sanjay Aggarwal told PTI. PTI ALM RHL