The Kedarnath Yatra pilgrimage has been stopped at Sonprayag and Gaurikund in Uttarakhand as a result of continuous and heavy rainfall, officials informed on Wednesday.

Amid bad weather conditions, the district administration stopped the passengers at Sonprayag and Gaurikund in view of their safety.

As many as four state roads and 10 link roads are closed due to debris amid heavy rains. Officials said that the Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers are in spate due to the incessant rainfall.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday had issued an orange alert for July 12 amid heavy rains in Uttarakhand.

In a tweet, IMD wrote, “Orange Alert: #Uttarakhand and adjoining areas of Western #UttarPradesh likely to get Heavy to Very heavy rainfall (115.6 to 204.4mm) on 12th July.”

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Tuesday that the state administration is on full alert mode in view of the IMD’s heavy rainfall alert in the region.

He spoke about the precautionary arrangements made in the state, saying, “Every year during monsoon time here, we have to face natural calamities. There are landslides due to excessive precipitation, and the water level of the rivers increases. We are in full alert mode. All district administration officials and those in our disaster management are doing their work. All of them have been asked to stay in alert mode to face any situation. Our other organizations are also working on this. NDRF, Army, and our PWD department are all ready to face any situation and we are constantly in touch with the people to help them in any situation.”

It may be noted that as many as four people died, while 10 others were injured due to falling debris on the Gangotri National Highway near Gangnani in Uttarakhand.