April 26, 2024 11:13 (IST)
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Rajnath visits Pune landslide site, toll at 31
Pune, July 31 (IBNS): Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday visited the Malin Village in Ambegaon Taluka of Pune district in Maharashtra, which was hit by a massive landslide on Wednesday claiming at least 31 lives.
While, the death toll touched 31 on Thursday, 158 persons are still feared trapped under the debris. Eight persons have been safely rescued.
The Home Minister expressed deep condolences to the families of the victims.
He was briefed at the spot by the District Magistrate, the Superintendent of Police and the Commandant, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) regarding the ongoing rescue efforts.
About 31 dead bodies have been recovered and the state government machinery is actively taking up rescue and relief efforts.
The Home Minister mentioned that the Prime Minister has deputed him to take this visit and to convey the Prime Minister’s deepest sympathy to the families of the victims.
He announced that the PM is releasing Rs. 2 lakhs each to the next of kin of each deceased person from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund in addition to the assistance under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
The village, where the landslide swept away at least 40 houses on the hillside, is located about 120 km from Pune.
Officials said the landslide occurred at around 10:45 AM yesterday.
Heavy rains have lashed the area.
At least seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force reached the incident spot on Wednesday soon after the disaster struck. Later two more teams of NDRF which were prepositioned at Andheri Sport Complex, Mumbai for pre-monsoon deployment were mobilised.
The total strength of nine teams is 378 trained personnel who are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and communication sets.
Alok Awasthy, Commandant, and Varghese P G, second-in-command, are supervising the operations.
Two Un-Armed-Vehicles (UAVs) with its pilot were also directed to rush to spot to help in the on-going rescue work. Six teams of NDRF at Gandhinagar are also kept as stand by for further deployment.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have condoled the loss of lives in the landslide which was triggered by heavy rains in the district.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also mourned the loss of lives in the tragedy
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