At least 50 pilgrims and locals were stranded near the Madmaheshwar Temple in Uttarakhand after the yatra to the shrine was stopped on Thursday due to heavy rain and landslides on the trekking route.

According to officials, a temporary wooden bridge, built over the Markanda River, was washed away amid incessant rainfall in the area, disrupting the yatra to the temple even more.

The shrine, which is part of the Panch Kedar group of temples in Uttarakhand, is located at an altitude of 11,473 feet.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued an 'orange alert' for Dehradun and Bageshwar, predicting moderate to heavy rainfall in the area.

After the advisory, the local administration decided to close all schools and Anganwadi centres in the city for Friday (July 26).

"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," an order by the Dehradun DM said.

The decision was made to prevent any untoward incidents as "rain increases the vulnerability of many areas in the district to landslides", it added.

Meanwhile, last year too, the trekking route to the Madmaheshwar Temple saw a bridge collapse in the Rudraprayag district. At the time, the rescuers safely evacuated nearly 300 pilgrims who were stranded on the route.

According to the Rudraprayag District Disaster Management officials, the rescue operation concluded with the evacuation of 293 devotees.

Source: India Today