New Tehri, Aug 8 (PTI) The Rishikesh-Badrinath highway was reopened for traffic on Tuesday after a 19-hour closure caused by a massive landslide near Atali.

The landslide occurred at 7 pm on Monday leaving a large number of vehicles stranded along the highway. A huge mound of debris had accumulated on the road, prompting authorities to divert traffic to alternative routes.

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Two more landslides occurred in Totaghati and Singtoli, said Devendra Negi, the SDM of Narendra Nagar.

Construction agencies worked on a war footing and cleared the road of debris in nearly 17 hours, he said, adding the highway was opened for light vehicles at noon and for heavy vehicles at 12.30 pm.

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After the disruption on Monday evening, Tehri District Magistrate Mayur Dikshit diverted stranded vehicles to alternative routes like Devbprayag-Gaja-Khadi-Rishikesh, Maletha-Gadoliya-Tehri-Chamba-Rishikesh and Muni-ki-Reti-Narendra Nagar-Tehri, Negi said.

Traffic is normal along the highway now but rain continues. Police and NHAI personnel have been asked to keep a watch, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)