Pune: Maharashtra’s worst landslide disaster, in Malin village of Pune district, has claimed the lives of 82 people, half of them women, officials said here yesterday. An estimated 130 villagers are still trapped or missing.
“We have recovered 82 bodies so far.... Rescue work is still under way,” Additional District Collector Ganesh Patil said.
Among the dead are 42 women, 30 men and 10 children, he added.
Since Friday morning, no survivors have been dug out, dimming all hopes of any more victims being extricated alive from the debris.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies have rescued 23 people so far, including Rudra, a three-month-old boy, from under the debris in the past three days.
The village of around 200 people was almost entirely buried under a landslide early on Wednesday following torrential rain.
Inclement weather conditions, wet and sticky soil, the stench from the decaying bodies of humans, and animal carcasses are hampering rescue operations.
On Friday, NDRF officials ruled out the likelihood of any more survivors being found as their gadgets do not indicate otherwise.
The rescuers are making arrangements to cremate the bodies as soon as possible after completing the necessary formalities.
They are also spraying chemicals in the area to prevent the outbreak of any disease.
Rescue operations, including efforts to trace more than two dozen students who took shelter in the village temple and were reportedly washed away in a nearby flooded river, will continue until today, officials said.
The toll has made the Malin tragedy the worst landslide disaster in the state.
Prior to Malin, the worst landslide was in Mumbai’s Sakinaka area, which killed over 75 slum dwellers on July 13, 2000.
In Mumbai, the Maharashtra government announced aid of Rs500,000 to the kin of each of the dead, free medical treatment for the injured and a complete rehabilitation package for the survivors.
The package will include repair or rebuilding of their damaged homes and provision of official documents, household articles and farming requirements to enable the survivors to restart their lives.
Rajya Sabha member and Republican Party of India (A) chief Ramdas Athawale, who visited the site on Friday, yesterday announced a donation of Rs2.5m from his MP fund, which will be spent on rehabilitation of the survivors.
Earlier, Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple Trust committed Rs5m for rehabilitation of the survivors and rebuilding the devastated village.
IANS
