Continuous downpour damages roads leaving tourists stranded due to disruption of traffic on highway.

Continuous downpour damaged roads in Nainital town of India s northern Uttarakhand state, leaving tourists stranded due to disruption of traffic on national highway.

A major chunk of the national highway no-87 caved in and slid into the valley, blocking the route and causing big traffic jams. "The main national highway from Haldwani to Pithoragarh, which is called the main lifeline of this hilly state, is fully closed. People have to travel 50-100 kilometres extra from separate routes. At some places only small vehicles can go and large vehicles are restricted, so, the people in the hills are facing major problems of food and light. In one way you can say that the movement and life of people have stopped," said Sanjeev Bhagat, a local.

Heavy rain and landslides in the region have damaged roads severely, blocking several routes to nearby cities and towns. Engineers assessed the damage saying that repair work would be over in three days.

"Due to the heavy rains, a part of the bridge has collapsed, so we have restricted the movement of heavy traffic for three days and we are repairing it," said B. C. Joshi, Junior Engineer, Public Works Department, Nainital.

The monsoon this year has caused heavy floods in several parts of north and central India, causing heavy devastation to life and property. Torrential rains affect millions of people in many South Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, wreaking havoc by destroying crops and damaging homes, besides causing several water-borne diseases.