4 killed in landslides as heavy rains put flooded Guwahati to standstill

Guwahati, June 14 (IANS): At least four people were killed in a landslide in Guwahati on Tuesday as the incessant rains since Monday night flooded the city, officials said on Tuesday.

Guwahati Deputy Commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha said that four construction workers were killed when huge landslides buried them on a hillside in Nijarapar in Boragaon area of the city.

“Huge mudslide triggered by incessant rains fell on a house where the victims were sleeping early on Tuesday,” the official said.

With the death of four people, the death toll in this year’s pre-monsoon and monsoon flood and landslides has risen to 42 in Assam.

State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials said that landslides have been reported from six other places in the commercial city and the outskirts including Kharghuli, Hengerabari, Kamakhya, Silpukhuri and Chandmari Colony, but there was no report of casualties yet but damaged several properties.

Nonstop heavy rains since Monday night caused knee-deep and waist-deep water on all major roads and human habitations across the city.

A large number of vehicles, including school buses, were stranded on the flooded roads creating massive traffic jams.

The flood waters have also entered hundreds of houses in the city. The Flood water also inundated Zoo Road, R G Baruah Road, GS Road, Nabin Nagar, Anil Nagar, Hatigaon, Ganeshguri, Hedayetpur, MLA quarters in Dispur, Lachit Nagar, Tarun Nagar, Jyotikuchi, Ghoramara, VIP Road, Rajgarh Road, Jorabat and Chatribari.

The Kamrup Metropolitan district administration, which governs the Guwahati and Dispur cities, issued an advisory requesting the citizens not to venture out from homes unless absolutely essential or shift to safer places.

National and state disaster response forces along with the volunteers reached out to the distressed people and tried to help the flood hit citizens.

Due to the heavy rain, there was no electricity in several areas of Guwahati for hours.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati on Monday issued “Red Alert” for Assam and Meghalaya and predicted up to “isolated extremely heavy rainfall” until Thursday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday predicted continuation of heavy rainfall activity over northeastern states till June 17 with a red alert sounded for Assam and Meghalaya.

Apart from the red alert for Assam and Meghalaya for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, the IMD has issued an orange alert for Arunachal Pradesh till June 17.