नवीनतम
Landslide hits Haridwar’s Mansa Devi hill
HARIDWAR [Maha Media]: A major landslide struck the Mansa Devi hill in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar on Monday, blocking railway traffic and bringing train services on the busy Dehradun–Haridwar route to a complete halt.
The incident occurred near the Bhimgoda railway tunnel and Kali Mata temple when a large section of the hill suddenly collapsed. Huge volumes of soil and rocks rolled down at high speed, burying the railway track close to the Bhimgoda tunnel.
The force of the slide was so intense that the iron safety net installed to protect the tracks was severely damaged. Train movement was immediately suspended, creating chaos for passengers. Local administration teams rushed to the spot, and clearance operations were launched without delay.
This marks the second such incident in the area within a month. On August 5, a massive landslide had crashed onto the Har Ki Pauri–Bhimgoda road and nearby railway tracks. CCTV footage from that event showed boulders hitting a motorcycle, narrowly missing three men who escaped with minor injuries. Torrential rainfall was cited as the primary cause of hill destabilisation.
The Mansa Devi hill region is regarded as highly prone to seasonal landslides, especially during the monsoon. Despite the installation of steel guards and protective nets in 2024 to shield vital road and rail infrastructure, the stretch continues to remain vulnerable to extreme weather.
Uttarakhand has been battered by incessant rainfall in recent days, triggering widespread landslides and flooding across several districts. Authorities have warned that the risk of further landslides and sudden surges in river levels remains high, leaving both the hills and plains severely disrupted.
