Manipur landslide: a struggle of “hope and hope”, 34 still missing

This is what it looks like every mile away. The mud on the mountain roads is mud due to the rain. The cars are running aground. It’s raining.

The rocks are falling. Somehow these vehicles are being withdrawn. It’s like a ‘thriller’.

The hope of survival of those missing in the landslide incident in Noni district in the northeastern state of Manipur is now negligible.

State Minister Piyush Hazarika, while inspecting the site, told reporters that he “had no hope.”

But the army and the “NDRF”, which are engaged in relief and rescue operations, as well as officials from the state government’s relief team, consider that “it is impossible for anyone to survive.”

They believe that only if a “miracle” happens can life be restored.

The process of searching for corpses takes place amid heavy rains and landslides. But due to the landslide, there are so many piles of rubble that the rescue team is facing problems.

The additional chief secretary of state, SM Khan, is also the head of the Disaster Management Department and relief and rescue operations are being carried out under his supervision.

BBC As he talks to him, he says that they are not only ruins but it is a mountain of mud.

They say that if there was dry soil, then ‘air pockets’ form under it, so there is a chance of anyone surviving.

Additional Chief Secretary Khan says that due to heavy rains, the ruins fell in the form of mud and therefore the chances of survival of those buried under him are greatly reduced.

In the rescue operation that took place immediately after the incident, about 18 people were rescued in a wounded state.

But as time went on, the chances of someone being saved alive diminished.

Rescue work is being carried out at a depth of a few feet below where earth is being removed by JCB machines. Rescue team personnel are queuing.

We were present when officers arrived at the wireless set after the discovery of a corpse.

Then a long rope was lowered to which the body was thrown by tying a stretcher.

The body could not be identified immediately. This series continues.

Due to rain and debris from above, the rescue team is also in danger of death.

According to the Manipur government, 34 people are still missing.

Officials say that among those whose bodies have been recovered so far is an officer ‘minor commissioner’ of the army. ,

The bodies of 14 Territorial Army personnel have been recovered from the rubble and government officials say all the bodies have been sent to their hometown where they are being cremated with state honors.

Government officials say the 107th Territorial Army Battalion was deployed in this area to give security to the employees involved in the project.

Due to the state border with Myanmar, extremist activities have increased significantly in this area.

Due to the activity of various clandestine organizations in the Naga and Kuki community, the government does not want to make any mistakes in terms of security in this area.

Bodies of two private companies and some railway employees dedicated to the work of the ambitious railway project started in Manipur have also been recovered.

But there is no information about some local villagers who were working on this project.

There is also a family among them who used to run a shop near the “Territorial Army” camp in Tupul.

the local villagers BBC A local woman and her two-year-old daughter were also present at the store at the time of the incident, the whereabouts of which are still unknown.

The Makhuwam has also been frozen here for three days.

He is looking for his son-in-law and his two-year-old granddaughter.

So far only two gas cylinders that were in his daughter-in-law’s shop have been recovered.

Makhuvam says there are many other villagers who used to do small jobs in the project and have no idea since the incident.

He has demanded that the local district administration identify these residents.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh BBC During the conversation, he assured that the mountains of his state are weak, thus increasing the risk of landslides.

He said the railway project is very ambitious and after its completion, Manipur will have railway connectivity with the whole country.

Under this project, work on the world’s tallest railway bridge is also underway.

He called this project “Dream Project” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, amid warnings of heavy rain, Noni district magistrate H Guite has instructed residents living near the site to be alert.

In the face of continuous warnings from the Department of Meteorology, the administration has informed the villagers that the situation may worsen and landslides may occur in many places with heavy rains.

In Tupul, where this accident occurred, landslides are occurring when they stay there.

Therefore, the local administration has also proposed that people move from the area to a safer place.

However, the work of the project continues day and night and for this reason stones are being removed breaking the mountains of Jah in the 80 km route from Noni to Marangching.

Road widening works are also underway. But that’s why the mountains have started to weaken even more and people are also facing the risk of large-scale landslides.

It usually takes an hour to reach Noni from the capital Imphal.

But the condition of the roads has become such that it now takes between four and five hours.

Due to the massive expansion work and various projects, the mountains of Manipur have become as sensitive as those of Uttarakhand.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh is also concerned about this, as this area falls into the “seismic” zone where there is always the possibility of a big earthquake on a given day.

Singh says, “We are sitting on the ‘fault line’. Any day there can be a great earthquake and there can be great destruction.”

“That’s why we’re taking the utmost care. We’re also doing a big tree planting in the mountains until the project is finished. We’re also taking every step to strengthen them.”