Maharashtra, Raigad: Village located near the Irshalgad fort, which is a popular trekking destination during the weekends, experienced a massive landslide due to heavy rainfall.
Most of the villagers belong to the Thakur Adivasi tribe and are reported to have been living in the area for generations.
The Incident
As of now, 22 bodies have been retrieved and 100 are feared trapped. Local reports said around 46 houses at Irshalgad village in Raigad district were affected, while over 20 were submerged in the mud.
The incident of a landslide took place between 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm on Wednesday night. The landslide was triggered by heavy rainfall as the Khalapur tehsil received 499 mm of rainfall for three days between Monday-Wednesday.
Immediate Response From The Ministers
Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the incident occurred at about 11 pm on Wednesday. “A total of 228 people reside in the village, 70 were safe and unaffected. 21 people were rescued safely of which 6 injured have been admitted to MGM hospital,” Fadnavis told the Assembly on Thursday.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising 20-30 personnel, arrived in the area in the early hours of Thursday to carry out rescue operations. The search operation was called off at about 5 pm and is set to commence early Saturday morning.
“We received a call about the incident at 1.45 am and left within half an hour. We reached the foothills around 4 am, and trekked up the hill to carry out rescue operations,” said Deepak Tiwari, a senior NDRF official.
Of the total 40 houses in the village, 17 have been affected. We have deployed four teams to conduct rescue operations. The debris in some places is 10-29 feet deep. It is difficult to bring heavy machinery to this place. It is a 2.8 km trek to reach the spot and we have to remove the debris manually, which is likely to take a lot of time. We will continue our operations till we retrieve the last person,” said S B Singh, Commandant of the 5th battalion of the NDRF.
As more manpower was required, 1,000 workers along with machinery were sent through CIDCO. They have reached and are working under the supervision of NDRF. Three Bobcat machines have been arranged by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board,” Fadnavis told the Assembly.
Combined Effort To Help In Distress
Due to heavy rainfall and location, it’s difficult for machinery to reach the top. Hence the team is facing more hurdles. The team is trying their best to help the people in distress. The Deputy Chief Minister later announced that compensation will be provided to the affected families.
Many Non-profit organizations (NGOs) are coming forward to extend their help. Packets of biscuits, water, and other foods are being provided. NGO from Mumbai donated 50,000 INR to help families in distress.
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