1. A landslide blocked National Highway 415, disrupting traffic between Holongi and Itanagar on July 22.
2. Several vehicles were stuck in the mud and debris caused by the landslide.
3. The landslide occurred early in the morning due to heavy rain.
Itanagar, July 22: A landslide blocked National Highway 415, disrupting traffic between Holongi and Itanagar on July 22.
Several vehicles were stuck in the mud and debris caused by the landslide, which occurred early this morning due to heavy rain.
The route is crucial as it links Itanagar to Donyi Polo Airport and Assam. The Papum Pare district administration and highway department have deployed two JCBs and other machinery to clear the road and restore traffic.
Also Read: Day Before Budget 2024, Nirmala Sitharaman Presents Economic Survey in Lok Sabha
The landslide is attributed to rampant illegal earth-cutting, despite several warnings from the administration. Locals say unscientific cutting triggers landslides every monsoon, causing panic and roadblocks.
The 14 km Holongi-Itanagar route witnesses several landslides every year. Today, hundreds of cars and two-wheelers are stranded. Continuous rain in Arunachal Pradesh over the past few days has triggered landslides and floods in several districts.
The disaster management department has issued alerts to all district commissioners and residents. Holongi Road is the second major route to the state capital after NH 15, which also faces landslide issues.
A project for slope stabilization and erosion control, awarded to Bharat Construction Pvt Ltd by NHAI in 2022, is nearing completion but faces challenges due to difficult terrain, unstable soil, and bad weather.
Speaking to the media, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Balijan of Papum Pare district Takar Rava said, “Since 7 am I am here with man and machineries to restore this blockage and traffic jam by clearing the debris and mud through JCBs. The defaulters who did earth cutting agreed to pay penalties and help in bearing the expenditures of the restoration along with the administration. There is a new Tanio colony that came into existence and the earth-cutting defaulters claim it to be a development activity done in winter to make a colony road but now the situation has changed and it’s affecting the national highway. The highway department is the sole authority but are absent from the scenario and I, being ADC, recruited my staff and machinery to restore the traffic movement.”
It is to be mentioned here that the debris and mud on the highway are due to rampant earth-cutting done by women folk denizens in winter, which has loosened the soil and caused this disaster during the monsoon.
