Joint SDRF and NDRF teams rescued 10,450 pilgrims stranded on the Kedarnath route in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district after a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall blocked the highway, officials said on Thursday.
According to officials, the landslide occurred at Munkatiya between Sonprayag and Gaurikund late Tuesday night, blocking the main highway and leaving a large number of pilgrims stranded.
Continuous rockfalls, heavy rainfall, darkness and difficult mountainous terrain made the rescue operation highly challenging.
The District Control Room (DCR) Rudraprayag alerted the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) at 9.16 pm, following which a rescue team from Sonprayag rushed to the spot with necessary equipment.
The SDRF and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) subsequently launched a joint rescue and relief operation and guided 10,450 stranded pilgrims across the affected stretch.
Rescue personnel motivated the pilgrims amid continuous rainfall and low visibility before shifting them to designated safe locations.
Officials later deployed JCB machines to clear the debris after the rescue operation was completed. Authorities restored the highway and resumed normal vehicular movement shortly afterwards.
SDRF Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi said teams stationed along the pilgrimage route remained on high alert, adding that the advance deployment enabled a swift response and effective coordination.
Workers eventually cleared the debris and removed the blockage, allowing stranded vehicles to leave the area, officials added.