Rain continues to wreak havoc, DA urges for alertness

Staff REPORTER

ITANAGAR, Jul 11: Incessant rain-triggered landslides, flash floods continued to wreak havoc in parts of Arunachal for the past few days.

With the state capital, Itanagar, witnessing landslides, mudslides, road blockades due to continuous rainfall during last couple of days, the district administration ordered closure of all government and private schools in the Capital Complex for three days starting from Thursday.

The Itanagar-Naharlagun stretch of NH-415, which is being upgraded as four-lane highway, is the worst hit by the monsoon fury as the thoroughfare gets blocked by landslips, disrupting the traffic movement.

Meanwhile, the Capital district administration appealed to the city dwellers to remain alert for their own safety during this monsoon, while informing that it was fully prepared to tackle any untoward happening. Apart from damages to the road surfaces, the current spell of disaster has either swept away or damaged nearly a dozen houses in different parts of the Capital Complex.

Itanagar Capital Complex in-charge Deputy Commissioner Talom Dupak said that so far, no major havoc is reported in the capital barring the road blockades due to landslides. He, however, stated that the road repairing and maintenance work will be immediately taken up.

He advised the people residing in landslide prone areas and on river banks to evacuate and shift to safer places. He further advised the denizens to avoid travelling at night these days and asked them to drive slowly and carefully to avoid any untoward incident. “We cannot stop the nature’s wrath but we can be cautious and alert to be safe,” he said.

He informed that the district administration has planned for few relief camps and assured that they are preparing to assist the affected people. He also said that the administration will issue directions to concerned agencies for repairing and maintenance of bridges and roads wherever needed.

With the Bhalukpong-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road remaining closed in the district as massive landslides blocked it at several points, West Kameng District Magistrate Dr Sonal Swaroop has ordered for restricting movement of all types of vehicles on the BCT road from Pinjoli bridge point to Tenga in the district for over a month beginning July 11 to August 15.

The DM has issued an advisory, asking people to avoid travelling along the BCT road until it is fully restored, and to take the Orang-Kalaktang-Shergaon-Rupa-Tenga (OKSRT) road.

During this closure period, the Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) has been directed to clear the debris and take up the road restoration works on war footing by deploying maximum man and material resources.

Meanwhile, the Seppa-Tezpur road has been blocked near Jayanti village in East Kameng district due to massive landslide following torrential rainfall.

Incessant rain for past few days also disrupted surface communication in parts of West Siang district. The main road near Aalo helipad was almost eroded creating traffic jams at that point. However, the concerned department has engaged in restoration of road.

The Aalo-Likabali road was also blocked and people have to move through the long Aalo-Pasighat road. The Aalo-Pangin-Pasighat road that was blocked on Wednesday evening was cleared this morning at around 11 am.

Reports of minor incident of blockades, water logging, erosions are also pouring in here from other administrative circles and sub-divisions in the district. There was, however, no report of any casualty. (With inputs from DIPROs)