Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 28: At least 17 people were killed and several others were reported missing as a stone quarry collapsed in Mizoram’s Aizawl district while a young boy was killed in neighbouring Assam in a tree fall due to incessant rains as an impact of passing of the cyclone Remal that left a trail of destruction in the north-east region on Tuesday, police said.
“The incident happened around 6 a.m. in an area between Melthum and Hlimen on the southern outskirts of the Aizawl town,” the Mizoram officials said. The death toll has risen to 17 in Mizoram’s stone quarry collapse and at least six people are still trapped under debris, Director-General of Police (DGP) Anil Shukla said. Mr Shukla further said heavy rains were affecting the rescue operations at the disaster site.
He said the rains triggered landslides at several other places in the State and at least two persons have been “swept away.” Among the victims of the stone quarry collapse are a four-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, another police officer said. “We have also rescued two persons alive from the site,” he said.
A landslide swept away a building in Aizawl’s Salem Veng, following which three persons went missing. Search is underway for them, an official said. The State capital has been cut off from the rest of the country due to a landslide on National Highway 6 at Hunthar, officials said. Besides, several intra-State highways have also been disrupted by landslides, they said.
Chief Minister Lalduhoma convened an emergency meeting with Home Minister K. Sapdanga, Chief Secretary Renu Sharma and other senior officials to take stock of the situation,” they added. Because of the rains, all schools were closed and government employees, except those involved in providing essential services, were asked to work from home.
Mr Lalduhoma announced ₹4 lakh ex-gratia for the families of those killed in calamities caused by rains, including the quarry collapse. He handed over cheques of ₹2 lakh each to the families of the eight Mizo people who died in the quarry collapse and said the remaining amount would be given to them soon.
Home Minister K. Sapdanga said, “The identities of the four non-tribal people are being verified. If they are permanent residents of Mizoram, they will be given the ex-gratia amount. If they came here temporarily to work, then they will not get any financial support.” Mr Lalduhoma said the government has earmarked ₹15 crore to tackle disasters triggered by rains, which occurred as an aftereffect of cyclone Remal.
More than 30 families were shifted to safer places due to unprecedented flooding of the Tlawng river at Sairang village, about 21 km from Aizawl, a senior official said. “Several farms on the bank of the river have been fully submerged by the water. The water level is continuing to rise. However, no casualty has been reported,” he added.
In the neighbouring Assam, a 17-year old college student identified as Kausik Bordoloi Amphi, was killed when a tree fell on the auto-rickshaw in which he was travelling at Dighalbori in Morigaon district. There were four others in the vehicle and all of them were injured. In Sonitpur district’s Dhekiajuli, a tree fell on a school bus and injured 12 children. They were admitted to a local hospital.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the inclement weather was likely to continue. “I have instructed officials to be alert to respond to exigencies at the earliest. Request citizens not to venture out unless there is an emergency and be safe. We are constantly monitoring the situation,” he posted on X.
Trees were uprooted in several places across the state, including Guwahati, because of the strong winds. Power supply was disrupted in lower Assam as electric poles fell, and water-logging was reported from different towns, officials said. Among the affected districts were Kamrup (Metro), Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Morigaon, Nagaon, Sonitpur and Dima Hasao, they said.
Road communication between Dima Hasao and Cachar was affected with restrictions imposed on traffic in the Jatinga-Harangajao stretch. All heavy vehicles on the way to Barak Valley were asked to go through Meghalaya, they added. Schools and other educational institutions were shut in Morigaon, Nagaon and Dima Hasao until further orders. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of extremely heavy rainfall across the State as an impact of the cyclone which made the landfall in Bangladesh on Sunday and passed over West Bengal and north-eastern states.
Because of the weather, ferry services were stopped in Guwahati, Jorhat, Tezpur, Morigaon, Dhubri, Goalpara, South Salmara, Barpeta, Cachar and Karimganj districts. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority asked people to avoid staying in vulnerable structures, avoid going to water-logged areas, stock up on essential items and contact authorities in case of an emergency. The NDRF and SDRF are also on alert to deal with the emerging situation, officials said.