Monsoon fury devastates Arunachal Pradesh, ten dead

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Incessant monsoon rains continue to wreak havoc across multiple districts of Arunachal Pradesh, triggering widespread landslides and floods that have so far claimed 10 lives in the northeastern state.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) under the disaster management department, 938 people across 156 villages in 23 districts have been affected by the monsoon deluge.

Tragedy struck Lohit district when the body of Guptajit Bharali, swept away by the flooded Sukha Nallah in Upper Digaru on Saturday, was recovered downstream at Lasa Pani on Sunday.

Since Thursday, nine people have died in two separate landslide incidents.

In East Kameng district, a devastating landslide on the Bana–Seppa stretch of National Highway 13 late Friday night swept away a vehicle carrying two families, killing all seven occupants.

In another incident, two labourers were buried under debris while working on a cabbage farm near Pine Grove in Lower Subansiri district. Two others were rescued.

Two persons, one from Assam’s Dispur at Parshuram Kund in Lohit district and another in Anjaw district, have gone missing in separate incidents, the report said, adding that search operations are currently underway.

In Kamle district’s Pamluk village, a man was injured in a landslide and is receiving medical treatment.

In Changlang district, flash floods from the Buri-Dihing River washed away 50 per cent of the Makantong bridge at the Trans Arunachal Highway on Saturday, severing vital road connectivity between Miao and Bordumsa.

Several areas in the Miao subdivision have been inundated, causing significant losses to livestock and horticultural property.

Tourist resorts such as Zupra and River Café, located along the Noa-Dehing River in Miao, have been submerged. The Industrial Training Institute at Balinong near Namchick, under Kharsang circle, suffered massive losses, with floodwaters destroying hostels, staff quarters, water tanks, and other key facilities.

The Noa-Dehing River has also eroded large swathes of agricultural and horticultural land in Dharmapur block under Namphai circle. The M’pen and Deban areas are now underwater, officials said.

In Upper Subansiri district, the water supply system has been severely disrupted due to multiple breaches in the Hangkar pipeline following heavy rainfall on Friday. Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) teams are working urgently to restore the supply, while tankers have been deployed to ensure interim relief.

In a heroic disaster relief mission, the Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued 14 people stranded in the flooded Bomjir River in Lower Dibang Valley on Sunday morning.

In Namsai district, authorities have set up a relief camp at Alubari Government Secondary School, where 59 displaced people are currently taking shelter.

With major rivers and their tributaries flowing above danger levels, flood-like conditions and landslides have also been reported in West Kameng, Kamle, Lower and Upper Subansiri, Papum Pare, Dibang Valley, Lower Dibang Valley, Lohit, Changlang, Kra Daadi, Kurung Kumey, and Longding districts of the state.

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