UTTARAKHAND LANDSLIDES STRAND 1,000 PILGRIMS; UP RAIN DEATHS RISE TO 10, RAJASTHAN CANCELS SIX TRAINS
Monsoon fury grips northern and central India as Yamunotri and Gangotri highways are blocked by debris, houses collapse in Rajasthan, and Delhi streets go under water
NewsArc Bureau
New Delhi/Dehradun/Jaipur/Lucknow, July 10, 2026
Heavy monsoon rains continued to batter large parts of northern India on Friday, triggering landslides in Uttarakhand, flash flooding in Delhi, and fatal building collapses in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, even as authorities scrambled to clear blocked highways and rescue stranded pilgrims.
UTTARAKHAND: HIGHWAYS BLOCKED, PILGRIMS STRANDED
In Uttarkashi district, landslides shut down both the Yamunotri Highway near Syanachatti and the Gangotri Highway near Nalupani, leaving close to 1,000 pilgrims stranded on the Yamunotri route. Officials in ten districts declared school holidays on Friday as a precautionary measure against the continuing downpour.
In Pithoragarh, the Adi Kailash route remained closed after rocks tumbled onto the road, while Haridwar’s streets were submerged under three to four feet of water, with visuals showing waterlogging beneath a railway bridge in the city.
By late morning, debris on the Gangotri National Highway near Nalupani had been cleared, and authorities began restoring traffic movement along the stretch.
Separately, in Tehri district, the threat of a landslide near the Sea Block Type-3 government residential complex in New Tehri prompted the administration to relocate three families to safer locations as precautionary rains continued.
UTTAR PRADESH: TEN DEAD IN RAIN-RELATED INCIDENTS
Uttar Pradesh recorded rainfall across 30 cities on Friday, with rain-related accidents claiming ten lives across the state. In Bulandshahr, two members of the same family died after an old mosque wall collapsed. In Hardoi, two sisters were swept away by a swollen river.
RAJASTHAN: HOUSES COLLAPSE, SIX TRAINS CANCELLED
In Rajasthan’s Dholpur, a house collapsed under the weight of continuous rain, trapping six people under the debris. In Ajmer’s Kishangarh, a mud house caved in, burying a couple and their child. The state’s railway network was also disrupted, with six trains cancelled and several others running behind schedule.
DELHI WATERLOGGED, TREES UPROOTED
Heavy showers left several parts of the national capital waterlogged on Friday. Uprooted trees blocked roads in multiple areas, causing traffic snarls across the city. In neighbouring Rishikesh, a scooter rider was caught in the swollen Bein river while attempting to cross it; bystanders risked their own safety to pull him out.
MONSOON COVERS ENTIRE COUNTRY TWO DAYS EARLY
The India Meteorological Department confirmed that the monsoon covered the entire country by Thursday, two days ahead of its usual 38-day schedule, completing coverage in just 36 days this year. However, the department has cautioned that the pace of the monsoon could slow down over the next two days.
Rescue and relief operations remain underway across the affected states, with district administrations on alert as the India Meteorological Department has forecast continued rainfall over the coming days.
