Mudslide blocks NH-6 connecting Meghalaya with Silchar; police say avoid route

SHILLONG/GUWAHATI: Several houses and shops near the Wahriat River in the West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya have been submerged following incessant rain and road communications have been disrupted in different localities in the district headquarters, Nongstoin, even as rescue operations have been launched.
West Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police BD Marak said on Saturday afternoon the water level in the river started receding, but it could rise again if heavy rain resume, even as he informed that all those residing along the river have been asked to shift to safer places.
Meanwhile, continued landslides in the Sonapur tunnel have cut off NH-6 that connects Meghalaya with Silchar in eastern Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura, police said. The debris is being cleared and commuters have been advised to remain alert and seek alternative routes wherever possible, superintendent of police Jagpal Dhanoa said.
“Due to the massive flow of debris and mud from adjoining hills on the Sonapyrdi (Sonapur) Tunnel, it is likely to take around 24 hours for clearing the same and restoring vehicular movement. The public is advised to avoid traveling on this route as much as possible and take alternate routes wherever feasible,” the East Jaintia Hills Police said through the social media this afternoon.
“Avoids travelling through Maledor-Sonapur stretch of the NH-06 which is prone to landslides unless absolutely necessary,” the police urged the people.
While very heavy rain to extremely heavy rain has been forecast for most places in the East Jaintia Hills, the police have advised people to avoid going to or near streams and be alert while traveling through landslide prone areas.
“In case of any emergency, please call 112,” the police appealed people in the East Jaintia Hills.
Meanwhile, DC, East Jaintia Hills, has written to NHAI to find a solution to the mudflow to the NH-6 tunnel. “As there is no alternate route to divert vehicles and as the NH-6 serves as a lifeline to the adjoining states of Assam, Mizoram and Tripura, it is untenable that the mudslide from adjoining hills should be allowed to flow unabated on the National Highway without any intervention. In light of the above, you are to immediately explore ways and means on how to control or divert the mudflow from the adjoining hills so that the normal flow of vehicular movement is least hampered,” the DC wrote.
Meanwhile, three persons — two siblings from West Khasi Hills in Meghalaya and a 34-year-old youth from Dhirenpara area of Guwahati — were killed in landslides on Saturday following incessant rain.
The two minor sisters, Cafinia Nongsiej (15) and Maianylla Nongsiej (10), were buried alive in the landslide at Dommawlein under Pyndengrei village of West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya on Saturday.
Sources said the two girls were reportedly sleeping, while their father and two other siblings, who were also in the house, managed to escape from their wooden hut in the hilly terrain. Family members and neighbours dug the girls out of the debris and took them to a nearby government hospital, where they were declared brought dead.
In Guwahati, the state Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officials and police retrieved the body of the victim, Mukhtar Ali (34) from the landslide site at Dhirenpara. Police said the victim, originally from Barpeta, was a daily wager.