Mussoorie, Aug. 8 -- The Rudraprayag district administration on Friday suspended the Shri Madmaheshwar Dham Yatra until further orders, citing frequent landslides, unsafe conditions along the pilgrimage route and the urgent need for infrastructure repairs, as heavy rain continued to disrupt road connectivity and push rivers above warning levels across Uttarakhand, officials said. Vishal Mishra, district magistrate and chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority, Rudraprayag, directed all concerned departments to ensure that pilgrims are informed about the suspension through multiple communication channels. The police, revenue and public works departments have been asked to work in close coordination, deploy adequate personnel, install barricades and put up warning signboards at vulnerable locations. "The decision was taken following a joint report submitted by the Superintendent of Police, Rudraprayag, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Ukhimath, and Executive Engineer, Public Works Department, which described the present condition of the pilgrimage route as highly sensitive and dangerous," Mishra said. The 14.50-km Masta-Madmaheshwar pedestrian route passes through Talsari Tok, Gaundar, Bantoli and Khunnu. The route has been facing persistent geological problems, particularly between Talsari Tok and Bantoli, where repeated landslides have created dangerous conditions for pilgrims. Hill-cutting work along a five-km stretch had been temporarily stopped to facilitate the pilgrimage, but landslides continued to pose a threat. The situation became more precarious after a temporary wooden bridge over the Morkhanda river at Bantoli was washed away by rising water levels on July 24. Since then, pilgrims have been using a manual trolley with a capacity of only two people at a time. The heavy influx of devotees during the Sawan month, the ongoing Kanwar Yatra and recent holidays resulted in overcrowding at the trolley point, according to the administration. Officials said arguments with trolley operators, jostling and attempts by pilgrims to take selfies had created serious security concerns. Authorities also reported that several pilgrims ignored safety warnings and entered landslide-prone stretches to take photographs and selfies, increasing the risk of an accident. RP Naithani, executive engineer, PWD Ukhimath, said the department had sought more than two days to undertake urgent maintenance work on the trolley. "The geographical terrain is challenging, so we have sought time of over two days for the maintenance work to be done on the Gaundar trolley on the way to Madmaheshwar temple," Naithani said. The administration has appealed to devotees to strictly comply with the suspension order and plan their pilgrimage only after checking updated information on weather and route conditions. Despite the heavy rain, national highways in Rudraprayag remained open. However, one state highway, six PWD roads, 15 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana roads and one NPCC road were blocked by landslides and debris on Friday. Clearance ops were underway....