Mussoorie: Incessant rain triggered fresh landslides near Pani Wala Bend on the Mussoorie-Dehradun road on Sunday, threatening shops and residences located above the affected area and disrupting traffic. The road was closed for about an hour before traffic was restored, while the road at km 21, where repairs were underway after an earlier washout, developed fresh cracks amid continued slope movement.The downpour also triggered a major landslide below Pahari Terrace restaurant on Sunday afternoon, threatening the restaurant and five families living below it. The families, comprising around 15 people, were evacuated after cracks developed on the terrace of one of the houses. “We have vacated our houses as the landslide caused cracks in the terrace of my house, making it unsafe for habitation,” said Deepak Rawat, owner of Pahari Terrace.Rawat added that the hillside had become extremely fragile following the disaster in Sept last year, when flash floods damaged the road at multiple points and forced its closure for two days while repairs were carried out. Pradeep Singh Shahi, additional assistant engineer, PWD, said the road had to be closed for some time but traffic was soon resumed.The Pani Wala Bend stretch has remained vulnerable to landslides this monsoon, disrupting traffic and forcing repeated closures of the Mussoorie-Dehradun road. Last month, large cracks appeared on the road near the bend and it began visibly sinking after heavy overnight rain weakened the embankment beneath it. Earlier this month, portions of the road had also caved in. Mussoorie-Dehradun road is the primary access route to the hill station from Dehradun and one of the state’s most frequented tourist routes.Meanwhile, heavy rain led to waterlogging in several parts of Dehradun, including Sahastradhara Road, Raipur, Prem Nagar, Shimla Bypass Road, Dalanwala and Nehru Colony. Three rural roads in the district remained blocked, according to district disaster management officer Rishabh Kumar.“There was a tree collapse, but no major incidents were reported, apart from complaints of waterlogging,” Kumar said.In view of the orange alert issued for Monday, the district administrations of Dehradun, Nainital and Bageshwar have ordered the closure of all schools from Classes 1 to 12 and anganwadi centres as a precautionary measure. Flood alerts have also been issued for low-lying areas, while rivers remain in spate.(With inputs from Tanmayee Tyagi in Dehradun)