Torrential rain and debris flooded several shops and houses at Bilaundi Pul market in Dhanaulti area here on Friday afternoon, damaging property and leaving Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister Bharat Singh Chaudhary and local MLA Pritam Singh Panwar stranded for over an hour.

The sudden downpour in Naughar village caused rainwater and slush to enter the several houses and shops.

Revenue Sub-Inspector Ambuj Chaudhary said the heavy rainfall occurred between 3 and 4 pm. "The rainwater, carrying heavy silt, entered many shops and houses, damaging a large quantity of goods," he said.

The Nagun-Bhawan-Dehradun state highway remained blocked due to heavy debris accumulation on the road. The Aglar river's water level rose sharply during the storm.

SDM Neelu Chawla said the debris entered more than 10 shops of the market.

"Cabinet Minister Bharat Singh Chaudhary was travelling from Uttarkashi to Dehradun when his convoy, including nearly a dozen vehicles, got stuck in the blockade. Chaudhary and MLA Pritam Singh Panwar were travelling in different cars within the convoy," the SDM said.

Authorities deployed JCB machines to clear the heavy silt and boulders from the highway. The road was reopened for traffic after over an hour of restoration work. Local revenue officials are assessing the total financial loss incurred by the affected locals and shopkeepers.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.