How landslides are hindering essential supplies from reaching Manipur

Parts of India are experiencing heavy rains and destructive landslides, which is causing a lot of trouble and inconvenience. Heavy rains have stranded hundreds of trucks carrying fuel and essential items to the violence-hit state of Manipur, police said on Thursday, after heavy rains caused devastation that killed at least 84 people. Heavy rain has caused many landslides along the National Highway-37 in Manipur’s Noney district, delaying the supply of the essential commodities. According to reports, the NH-37 is one of Manipur’s two lifelines and has been closed since the afternoon of the Independence Day. Rocks and mud engulfed part of a highway near Imphal, the capital of Manipur, following Wednesday’s rains, police said, adding that incessant rain was hampering efforts to clear the road. Nearly 500 vehicles, including 200 loaded Imphal-bound trucks, are stranded in Jiribam district bordering Assam, as per an Indian Express report. The landslides happened between Irang and Awangkhul part 2 and Irang and Khongsang. Massive stones are obstructing the highway in Awangkhul. However, the police said that the work to clear the debris is continuing 24×7 to ensure movement of traffic on the highway by Friday. “Strict security measures have been implemented in all vulnerable locations, and security convoys have been provided in sensitive stretches to ensure free and safe movement of vehicles,” according to a police control room statement quoted by Indian Express. Manipur is trying to restore peace after it was hit by deadly ethnic violence that began in May, killing at least 180 people and driving tens of thousands from their homes. Landslides across the country Torrential rains that officials blame on climate change, coupled with unabated construction over the past few years in the mountainous Himalayan region, have also led to frequent flash floods and landslides in neighbouring Pakistan and Nepal. [caption id=“attachment_13010522” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Hundreds of structures have crumbled down the mountains this week in landslides in Himachal Pradesh. PTI[/caption] Hundreds of structures have also crumbled down the mountains this week in landslides in Himachal Pradesh, killing at least 68 people with about 15 missing, disaster management official Praveen Bhardwaj said. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told the Indian Express that indiscriminate construction and improper structural design were among the reasons for the destruction. In the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand, at least 16 people died in landslides this week with 15 missing by Wednesday, government figures showed. Heavy seasonal monsoon showers since 1 June have brought rains exceeding the normal by 45 per cent and 18 per cent respectively in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, weather officials say, following significant volumes last month. At least 88 people died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh last month, with 74 dying since June in Uttarakhand in events triggered by natural disasters, official data shows. With inputs from Reuters