Heavy rainfall triggers landslides, blocks Badrinath highway

11 Sep 2023 CW Team

Continuous heavy rainfall led to landslides in multiple areas of Chamoli district, disrupting the Badrinath highway (National highway-54) for over 12 hours on Sunday. The affected regions included Chinka, Kameda, and Pagal Nala, where recurring landslides and falling rocks posed significant challenges.

Hundreds of pilgrims en route to the revered Badrinath shrine found themselves stranded along the highway due to these adverse weather conditions. Chamoli police issued a travel advisory, urging pilgrims to plan their journeys while considering the weather forecast.

After dedicated efforts, the highway at Kameda was reopened for small vehicles around 2 pm on Sunday, offering some relief to the stranded travellers. The Pagal Nala stretch was also cleared and reopened around 5 pm. However, later in the evening, another obstruction occurred at Langasu, reported by Chamoli police.

Nand Kishore Joshi, the district disaster management officer in Chamoli, reassured that traffic has been restored, with vehicles allowed to move through Kameda and Pagal Nala under controlled conditions.

The regional meteorological centre reported varying levels of rainfall in the region, with Chamoli city receiving 40mm, Karnaprayag 50mm, Gauchar 50mm, and Pokhari experiencing 70mm of rainfall. The adverse weather conditions and resulting landslides highlight the challenges of travel in this region, particularly during the monsoon season.

Infrastructure Urban

17 Sep 2025

DCPC Prepares for Special Campaign 5.0 with Focus on E-Waste

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, is gearing up for Special Campaign 5.0, to be held from 2nd to 31st October 2025. The initiative will focus on e-waste disposal as per MoEFCC’s E-Waste Management Rules 2022, space optimisation, and enhancing workplace efficiency across field offices.Special Campaign 4.0, conducted between October 2023 and October 2024, delivered notable results in record management, grievance redressal, scrap disposal, and cleanliness drives.Key outcomes of Special Campaign 4.0Records management: 2,443 physical fil..

BlackRock India Leases 1.4 Lakh Sq Ft in Bengaluru

BlackRock Services India, the domestic arm of global asset manager BlackRock, has leased 1.4 lakh sq ft of office space at IndiQube Symphony in Bengaluru, according to Propstack data. The 10-year deal is valued at around Rs 4.10 billion.The lease, among the largest transactions in India’s co-working sector, highlights the growing preference of global institutions for flexible office providers. The agreement, commencing October 1, 2025, covers ground plus five floors in KNG Tower 1 at Ashoknagar, MG Road — one of Bengaluru’s prime commercial hubs.As per the lease document, BlackRock will ..

L&T Bags Rs 25–50 Bn Order for Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Track Works

Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) Transportation Infrastructure business has secured an order valued between Rs 25 crore and Rs 50 billion from the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor.The contract, Package T1, involves the design, supply, construction, testing, and commissioning of 156 route km of high-speed ballastless track on a Design-Build Lump Sum Price basis. The stretch runs from Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex to Zaroli village in Gujarat and includes 21 km of underground track and 135 km of elevated viaduct.Se..