The first spell of rain this year has brought tragic news as four people were killed and three others injured in a major mudslide at a construction site in Itanagar. The casualties occurred when a portion of land caved in at a retaining wall construction site.
Itanagar is unable to withstand heavy rain, with haphazard construction everywhere and extensive earth-cutting carried out to make way for such development. This earth-cutting leads to landslides; each year, people lose their lives during the rains, and the entire town remains vulnerable and threatened.
The administration must do more than merely issue warnings and evacuation notices. Strict action should be initiated, and earth-cutting must not be allowed, as it has been responsible for deaths and destruction. The administration’s job does not end with issuing orders; it must ensure that its own directives are implemented seriously.