Mussoorie, Sept. 19 -- The Mussoorie-Dehradun road was reopened for traffic on Thursday after being cut off for two days due to heavy rainfall-induced landslides and consequent severe infrastructural damage after a crucial stretch was washed away in Tuesday's downpour, officials said. Locals and stranded tourists have expressed relief at the decision. The Bailey bridge at the damaged site was completed by Wednesday, officials said, adding that inclement weather meant that traffic could not be opened till Thursday morning, first for stranded vehicles on the Mussoorie side, and then eventually, for both sides by afternoon. Rahul Anand, sub-divisional magistrate, said, "Following the complete washout of a road section due to heavy rainfall on Tuesday, the administration decided to erect a Bailey bridge at the site. After over 22 hours of effort, the bridge was finally set up, enabling light vehicle traffic between Mussoorie and Dehradun by Thursday." Of the nearly 3,000 tourists who had been stranded in Mussoorie since Tuesday, some managed to take alternate routes via Kempty and Dhanaulti on Wednesday, while the remaining tourists left on Thursday morning and afternoon after the road reopened, officials said. Sanjay Agarwal, president of the Mussoorie Hotel Association, said, "Thanks to the proactive response of the administration and its quick decision to erect a Bailey bridge, the road has finally reopened. All the tourists who were stranded in hotels have now departed, leaving Mussoorie completely empty of tourists by Thursday evening." Agarwal added that hoteliers had risen to the occasion during the crisis. "Our members provided free accommodation to stranded tourists who could not leave earlier due to the roadblock. I am grateful to them for their contribution in this challenging time," he said. Tourists, too, described their anxious wait during the road closure. "We had to go through tense moments, constantly worrying when the road would reopen. But we are grateful to the hotel owner, who not only allowed us to stay for free for two days but also helped us in every possible way," said Abhijit Bhattacharya, 52, a tourist from Kolkata. For local residents, the crisis brought unprecedented difficulties. "In my 60 years, I have never witnessed such a disaster where Mussoorie was cut off from all sides. The blockade disrupted the supply of essential commodities like vegetables, making life extremely tough," said Chandraveer, a resident of Library Bazaar....