Dehradun, July 24, 2026 (Doon Horizon)
District authorities have banned all vehicular traffic on the Dehradun-Mussoorie route between 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM due to severe road cave-ins and active landslides at Paani Bandh. SDM Rahul Anand issued strict orders to Mussoorie and Rajpur police stations to enforce the night closure and maintain high disaster alert. Only emergency services and special permission vehicles can move along the stretch during the restricted hours.
Continuous heavy rainfall caused half the road width at Paani Bandh to collapse earlier this week. Cracks spread across the asphalt, stalling traffic completely. Public Works Department (PWD) teams used back-cutting methods to clear a passage, but fresh mud debris slammed into the road again on Wednesday evening.
PWD Junior Engineer Pradeep Shahi confirmed that while the main Dehradun-Mussoorie road remains open for light daytime traffic, the alternate Kimadi route is still totally blocked. Road cleared at one spot collapses elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Transport Corporation restarted Tempo Traveller operations on Thursday after a three-day absolute halt. Landslides at Paani Bandh on Monday had cut off all public transport between the two towns. Divisioral Manager Suresh Chauhan stated that heavy buses cannot negotiate the damaged stretch safely yet. Bus service stays suspended. Passengers pay Rs 105 per seat for the resumed Tempo Traveller ride against the standard bus fare of Rs 80.
In a separate incident on the same stretch on Thursday afternoon, emergency crews pulled a 45-year-old man out of a deep gorge near Zero Point. Fire station officials received a emergency call at 2:15 PM and dispatched a rescue team directly to the spot. Fire Officer Dheeraj Singh Tadiyal confirmed the victim, identified as Kundan Lal from Tehri Garhwal (currently residing in Kempti), was pulled out alive and rushed to the Sub-District Hospital for treatment.
