[ Amar Sangno ]
ITANAGAR, Jul 10: At least seven people were killed and one person has gone missing after landslides struck houses in separate locations of the Itanagar capital region (ICR) on Friday.
Four persons, including an eight-month-old child, were buried alive in Tigdo village, near Yupia in Papum Pare district, when a landslide hit the residence of one Tana Neka.
The deceased have been identified as Tana Martin alias Tana Liej (22), s/o of Tana Neka; Tana John (17), s/o Tana Neka; Lingdum Yabung, w/o Tana Martin; and Tana Yasum (8 months), d/o Tana Martin.
“The incident occurred at 2:30 am. The bodies were retrieved with the help of villagers and a JCB,” said Tana Agul, the younger brother of Tana Neka.
Agul said landslides had hit the house thrice earlier and the family had been advised by their relatives to move to a safer place.
“Landslides had already warned them thrice. The house had been hit on earlier occasions too. The relatives had advised them to vacate. Last evening also, there was sliding. I don’t know why they were adamant on not vacating,” Tana Agul said, grieving the loss of his nephews and sister-in-law.
The deceased were buried beside the compound of the landslide-hit house.
“I would appeal to the local MLA and the state government through the district administration to at least give relief (ex gratia) to the bereaved family members,” Agul said.
Doimukh MLA Tana Hali, Papum Pare DC Pige Ligu and SP Jimi Chiram along with the DDMO visited the site and assessed the loss of lives and properties.
Three more people were buried alive while one person went missing after a mudslide struck the house of one Kamdak Tado and swept it away at around 11:30 am on Friday in Modi Rijo village, near 6 Kilo, along NH 415 between Itanagar and Naharlagun.
The deceased have been identified as Kamdak Kagung (30) w/o Kamdak Tado; Kamdak Karna (9), d/o Kamdak Maya; and Kamdak Jita (8), d/o Kamdak Maya.
The bodies were retrieved by the state disaster response force (SDRF) and the police, with the help of local residents, informed District Disaster Management Officer (DDMO) Moromi Dodum Sonam.
A massive search led by SDRF, police and CRPF personnel is on to find the missing person, identified as Lokam Minu (22), the DDMO added.
A minor, identified as Lokam Gandhi (15), d/o Lokam Tami, sustained leg injury when she was trapped under the debris. She was reportedly saved by the locals and later shifted to the RK Mission Hospital here. Another minor, Lokam Rona, s/o Lokam Chamgang, escaped unhurt.
The mudslide reportedly originated in the dumping site near 6 Kilo.
Meanwhile, the district administration has identified 16 zones in the ICR that are vulnerable to floods and landslides. Reportedly, the disaster management directorate has asked the administration to activate relief camps and shift the residents from the identified vulnerable areas. The district disaster management authority has set up relief camps based on their proximity to the vulnerable zones. It was informed that residents have been alerted and asked to move to safer locations from the vulnerable zones.
ICR DC Komkar Dulom has requisitioned the government higher secondary school in Kankarnallah as a temporary relief camp for the victims of floods and landslides. The DC has directed the ICR DDMO and the Naharlagun EAC (Relief) to coordinate and make arrangements for provision of relief materials.
The regional meteorological centre in Guwahati, Assam, had on Wednesday warned that 11 districts of Arunachal – West Kameng, East Kameng, Lower Subansiri, Papum Pare, East Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, Dibang Valley, Anjaw, Lohit, Namsai and Changlang – were likely to receive a heavy amount of rainfall and thunderstorms, close to the danger level, over isolated areas in the next two days (Thursday and Friday).
The regional meteorological department has forecast that most parts of Arunachal are likely to receive thunderstorms with lightning and very heavy rainfall. It has alerted the state’s authorities to brace for heavy thunderstorms and rainfalls.
