SHANGLA: A landslide triggered by monsoon rain hit over 30 houses at Karora Bazaar here on Saturday. However, there was no casualty, as police said that people had been shifted to safer places keeping in view the danger of landslide.
Police said that the landslide fell on Karora Bazaar on Saturday noon and hit over 30 houses.
“We shifted families from the houses to safer places when the land started sliding slowly,” they said, adding that a landslide had also occurred near the affected place in April this year.
Police say people were shifted to safer places ahead of the incident
Nazir Ahmed, local youth councillor, told Dawn on phone that the local people and police took part in the rescue work, but due to heavy rain they could not shift the goods from the houses. He said that heavy landslide created panic among the local people and the nearest population was forced to migrate to safer places.
He said that the rains and landslides also blocked Swat-Bisham road. Police said that Chakesar road was also closed to traffic due to a landslide.
When contacted, district nazim Niaz Ahmed said that machinery would be sent for clearing the roads. He also asked the administration to immediately start relief work and provide tents to the affected families.
Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Dildar Ahmed told a meeting at his office on Saturday that the district administration had devised a contingency plan to tackle any emergency during monsoon rains.
He said that a special forum with the name of Early Recovery and Development Working Group had also been established. The forum will coordinate efforts in providing relief to the affected communities.
Assistant commissioners of Alpuri, Puran and Bisham, district health officer, EPI district coordinator and TMA and police officials attended the meeting.
The meeting was told that in case of any disaster the DC office would act as control room with disaster management officer as its in-charge to coordinate all the activities.
It was also decided that in case of emergency all the ACs would immediately constitute special teams consisting of patwaris, village nazims, doctors, teachers, student etc, for early rescue work.
Meanwhile, district disaster management officer Taimur Khan claimed that all routes and link roads had been cleared after receiving funds for rehabilitation work. He told mediapersons here on Saturday that the link roads were blocked by landslides in April.
Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2016