Heavy rains, poor road, no lights: How rescue ops in Raigad during landslide were delayed

An incident of landslide was reported at Irshalwadi, a tribal hamlet in Khalapur tehsil of Maharashtra’s Raigad on Wednesday night, affecting 48 families. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said on Thursday that there had been over 13 fatalities and that many more were likely trapped under the debris. Police claim that 12 bodies have been found, besides a rescuer who passed away from cardiac arrest. Over the past 24 hours, the area has experienced continuous rainfall, which has turned the area into a flood-like condition and damaged at least 125 homes, according to Midday. Two teams arrived at the spot, according to the NDRF, and a search and rescue effort was started. However, the operation faced significant challenges due to inadequate road connectivity and persistent rain. Also read: Mumbai gets 100 mm rainfall in 24 hours; IMD predicts heavy to very heavy downpour in city and suburbs Major hurdles in rescue ops Even though the tragic incident took place late on Wednesday at around 11-11,30 am, the rescue operation could not take place as there is no proper road to Thakurwadi, the village in Irshalwadi for rescue vehicles to enter. Maharashtra Women and Child Development minister Aditi Tatkare told News18 that the rescue team has to walk down for one to two kilometres from the main road to reach the accident spot. She said, “Once the district administration received information about the incident, all possible and available forces were diverted to start the rescue operation.” [caption id=“attachment_12892722” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] NDRF personnel during a search and rescue operation after a landslide at Irshalwadi village in Raigad district. PTI[/caption] “Heavy rains, pitch darkness at night and poor road connectivity were major hurdles in the rescue operation. However, we managed to send eight to ten local rescue teams to the village post-midnight. NDRF teams arrived at the spot at 3.30 am on Thursday and have taken charge of the rescue operations,” she added. Member of Parliament from Raigad constituency Sunil Tatkare also told the outlet, “Heavy machinery of NDRF and local rescue team can’t reach the spot as it’s on a height of 700-900 feet. If the weather gets clear, the state government will also deploy choppers to speed up the rescue work.” When the tragedy happened, 10 to 15 children were able to escape and alert the authorities to the landslide. According to Aditi Tatkare, the village was not listed as a “landslide-prone village” which is made by the district authorities every year. Thus, no warning was issued. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also informed that over two IAF helicopters are kept ready but due to bad weather it is not able to fly. “A temporary helipad is also readied. 500 workers from CIDCO are sent to assist in operations. The State Control Room is in constantly touch with local systems. The possibility of air-lifting 2 earth-moving machines is also being explored,” he added.

After the landslide at Irshalgad in Raigad Dist., the administration is continuously carrying out help and rescue operations with full strength tackling and overcoming all obstacles.
CM Eknath Shinde ji himself had reached on the spot.
Minister Girish Mahajan ji and MLA Mahesh… pic.twitter.com/MuErQpZ5Ob

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 20, 2023

Also read: How heavy rain is wreaking havoc across north India Evacuation underway Due to heavy rainfall and the flood-like situation at some places in the district, a total of 2,227 people from 746 families were moved to safety. Of them, 704 people are from Poladpur taluka, 450 people from Chirner village in Uran taluka and 430 people from Mahad taluka, the district administration said. People from Pen, Mangaon, Panvel, Karjat, and Khalapur talukas are also among the evacuees, according to the district administration. Raigad landslide On early Thursday, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and other cabinet ministers visited the village and announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each for the kin of those who lost their lives in the tragic incident. He said that the state government will bear the cost of treatment of the injured. He also informed that Union home minister Amit Shah also spoke to him about the incident and has extended the Centre’s full support. People with minor injuries are treated at the rural hospital while a few with serious injuries are transported to MGM Hospital in Panvel, where 100 additional beds have been added and red and yellow zones have been established to accommodate patients, according to News18. Seventy-five “pucca” houses and 51 “kutcha” houses suffered partial damages in parts of the district in rain-related incidents that also left six cattle sheds and three public properties damaged, the district administration said in a statement. Also read: 350 years of Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation: How will Maharashtra mark it? Heavy rainfall alert Due to recent intense downpours and forecasts for more, the district had been on red alert for the past two days. As a result of incessant rainfall, 17 out of 28 dams in the district are overflowing, the district administration said. Several places even recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, reported PTI. In the 24-hour period ending at 10 am on Thursday, Panvel taluka received 267.7 mm rainfall, followed by Poladpur at 266 mm, Mahad at 230.9 mm, Karjat at 226.6 mm, Pen at 212.7 mm, Uran at 207.5 mm, Sudhagad at 196.4 mm, Khalapur 182.5 mm, Tala 186 mm and Aliabg 180.4 mm. Mhasala taluka recorded 169.5 mm of rainfall during this period, followed by Roha 156.9 mm, Mangaon 148.1 mm, Shrivardhan 145.4 mm and Murud 134.8 mm, it said, adding that the district’s average rainfall recorded during this period was 198 mm. The State Disaster Management Authority has declared a holiday for schools in Raigad today due to heavy to very heavy rain predictions. The average rainfall of the district in four months – from June to September – is 3,148 mm. This year, its average rainfall recorded so far is 1,524.5 mm With inputs from agencies