Landslide at Panikhaiti, girl buried alive

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 3: A six-year-old student of class 1 – Dipika Barman – was buried alive in a landslide at Panikhaiti on the outskirts of Guwahati on Monday.

According to reports, red soil slipped from the hill at Patharquary Basti near Panikhaiti Railway Gate around 8 this morning. When Dipika and her sister (Sanju), daughters of Dipak Barman, were ready to go to school Dipika had to go inside the house for drinking water. Red soil from the hill slipped at that moment, burying Dipika alive. With the younger sister raising a hue and cry, people from the locality gathered and came to know that Dipika was buried inside. Panikhaiti police rushed to spot and dug out the girl with the help of the local people. Though Dipika was sent for treatment to GMCH, the doctors declared her brought dead. Sanju also sustained injury in the incident.

The body has been handed over to the family members after post-mortem. Chandrapur Revenue Circle Officer Pallabjyoti th rushed to the spot, and announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh from the district administration.

Meanwhile, a team of SDRF personnel visited all landslide-prone areas and asked many families to move to safer areas. There was an incident of landslide at Bonda also. What is repeated is that the district administration asks families living in landslide-prone areas to move to safer places. The families, on the other hand, stay put there risking their lives. However, when any incident occurs they blame it on the district administration. This practice does not sound fair.