Assam's Hailakandi administration asked to shift people in vulnerable areas following landslides

In view of the landslides in Hailakandi district in south Assam claiming eight lives on Monday, the District Disaster Management Authority has asked officials to shift people living near hills and mounds to safer places.

"As reported, many people are living in kutcha house with mud walls adjacent to hills and mounds. People living in such vulnerable areas need to be shifted to nearby government buildings like schools and community halls, etc," Additional Deputy Commissioner cum Chief Executive Officer of DDMA, R K Dam, said in a letter issued to the circle officers of Hailakandi, Algapur, Lala and Katlicherra.

The ADC also asked the circle officers to conduct survey of landslide-prone areas in their respective jurisdictions.

"AAPDA Mitra volunteers are asking people in vulnerable areas to move to safer places especially at night, following incessant rain in the district in the past few days," District Programme Officer, DDMA, Rupjoy Maibangsa, said.

Water levels of three major rivers in the district are rising after torrential rain, officials said. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal took stock of the situation following the landslides in Hailakandi district and asked administration officials to chalk out a comprehensive action plan to deal with any exigency.

Sonowal also said the state government has constituted district-level landslide warning and response teams under the deputy commissioners. On the COVID-19 situation in the state, he said there is no need to panic as the health department is fully geared up to tackle the situation. The number of COVID-19 cases is approaching the 2,000-mark in Assam with the addition of 158 fresh ones on Thursday, after the state recorded the highest single-day spurt of 269 cases the previous day, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.