At least 50 pilgrims and local residents have been left stranded near Uttarakhand's Madmaheshwar Temple following a halt in the yatra to the shrine due to heavy rain and landslides affecting the trekking route. Officials reported that the temporary wooden bridge over the Markanda River was washed away amid the continuous downpour, further disrupting access to the temple.
The Madmaheshwar Temple, part of the revered Panch Kedar group of temples, is situated at an elevation of 11,473 feet. The situation worsened as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an 'orange alert' for Dehradun and Bageshwar, predicting moderate to heavy rainfall in these areas.
In response to the weather advisory, the local administration decided to close all schools and Anganwadi centres in Dehradun on Friday, July 26. An order from the Dehradun District Magistrate stated, "All government and private schools from class 1 to 12 and Anganwadi centres in Dehradun will remain closed on Friday in view of an ‘orange’ alert issued by the NDMA’s National Disaster Alert Portal for heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning in the district." The decision aims to prevent any untoward incidents as the rain increases the vulnerability of many areas to landslides.
This incident follows a similar one from last year, where a bridge collapse on the trekking route to the Madmaheshwar Temple in Rudraprayag district left nearly 300 pilgrims stranded. During that time, rescue operations were successful in safely evacuating 293 devotees, according to the Rudraprayag District Disaster Management officials.
