Two bodies recovered, Assam's toll rises to 15
Source: Chronicle News Service
Noney/Morigaon, July 12 2022:
Two more bodies were recovered as the search and rescue operation in the Makhuam landslide tragedy entered its 13th day on Tuesday.
The two bodies were retrieved from the debris in the Ijei river bank.
The number of bodies of the landslide victims has reached 54 while seven including five local residents are still missing.
A review meeting of top officials of the rescue team along with local leaders and railways officials will be held on Wednesday at the site.
The meeting to decide future course of action will be chaired by Awangbow Newmai, minister Water Resources, Relief & Disaster.
The number of Assam residents killed in the landslide in Noney district last month has reached 15 with recovery of two more bodies, an official said on Tuesday.
Another six people from Assam are still missing, he said.
Bodies of two persons from Morigaon district, who were engaged as labourers at the Tupul railway yard construction site when the landslide occurred, were retrieved from under the debris on Monday, he said.
"The bodies are in a de composed condition, and the Manipur government is yet to decide whether these will be sent here or not", the official said.
Four more persons from the district are still missing with multiple agencies continuing the search operation at the site, he said.
Of the three bodies found on Monday, two were of labourers from Assam.
The Assam government had compiled a list of 26 people from the state, who were engaged at the Tupul railway yard construction site when the landslide occurred on June 30 .
Of them, 21 from Morigaon were there, the district administration had said.
The body of a railway engineer from Assam was cremated at his native village on July 11.Of the 15 Assam residents who lost their lives in the landslide, 12 labourers were from Morigaon, while the engineer was from Dhubri.
A Territorial Army jawan from Bajali and another person from Nalbari were also among the deceased from the state.
Five persons from Assam were rescued alive and have returned to their homes in Morigaon.
Construction was underway in the area for the 110-km Jiribam-Imphal line under a project to connect the capitals of all north-eastern states to the country's railway network.
On Monday, the Manipur government announced that an expert committee would be formed to identify landslide prone areas in the state.
The high-level committee will comprise officials of the Geological Survey of India and the Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre.
The announcement was made by Manipur chief minister Biren Singh after handing over ex-gratia to family members of the victims of landslide that occurred along National Highway-102 Tipaimukh Road in Churachandpur on July 8 .