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A massive landslide struck the Kharghuli area of Guwahati on Sunday after boulders and debris rolled down a hillside, blocking a road and prompting authorities to launch clearance operations. No casualties have been reported.
Efforts are underway to remove the boulders and debris from the affected road and restore normal movement in the area, a senior official said. Speaking about the incident, District Project Officer (DPO) at the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Kaustubh Talukdar, said the landslide was caused by illegal and unscientific earth-cutting despite restrictions imposed by the district administration. "The incident happened because of unplanned and unscientific earth cutting and development activities. The District Administration, DC Sir from the District Disaster Management Authority, had issued a blanket order for hilly areas and the low-lying areas and banned earth-cutting from May to October," he said. Talukdar said carrying out construction or earth-cutting in hilly areas despite the ban is illegal and added that the authorities are taking steps to reduce the risk in the affected area. "Despite this, even after that, if someone does such construction in the mountains, that is considered to be illegal. Soil Conservation Department is also there. They have assessed the vulnerability of this thing. They are doing some temporary precautionary measures for the eroded soil, and some technical improvements will be done today or tomorrow," he added. Meanwhile, in neighbouring state Nagaland, heavy rainfall triggered multiple landslides in Mon district, leaving at least eight people dead and 12 others injured, according to district authorities. Deputy Commissioner of Mon district, Wennyei Konyak, told ANI over the phone that the worst-hit areas were Mon town and Tizit, where continuous rainfall since the early hours of Sunday triggered landslides at multiple locations. He said search and rescue operations were being carried out jointly by the SDRF, NDRF, police, Assam Rifles and residents. "Eight people have died in the landslide incidents triggered by incessant heavy rainfall that occurred in multiple locations in Mon district. The most affected areas are Mon town and Tizit. The heavy rainfall started at around 1 am, and we received information about landslide incidents at around 6-7 am. SDRF, police, Assam Rifles, NDRF teams and locals are engaged in search and rescue operations. So far, we have recovered 4 bodies, including three females and a male, from the debris. 12 others were injured. Search and rescue operations are underway in multiple locations," Wennyei Konyak said. (ANI)
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