THE BAND
THE BAND
When earth comes
crumbling down
Massive landslides and flashfloods have
wreaked Arunachal Pradesh like never
before. But what has come to light is
rampant construction that defies any
norm. Sabyasachi Bhattacharjee from
Itanagar sheds light on this what many
call a man-made catastrophe.
30 July 08
STATE ARUNACHAL PRADESH
When Jimmy Tasser of Nirjuli, on the
outskirts of Itanagar, the state capital of
Arunachal Pradesh, slept after a heavy
day’s of work on June 13, he never knew
that he would not have another night to
sleep. His family members were also not
aware of the impending danger that in-
cessant rain had on hold for them. A ma-
jor landslide not only swept their house
altogether, it also buried alive Tasser,
the president of the Arunachal Drug and
Chemist Association, when his house
collapsed the next day.
Along with Tasser, a poultry farm
owner Yumra Chai also died while try-
ing to flee his bamboo-and-tin house in
Abo Tani Colony when a mudslide oc-
curred in the early morning of June 14.
Ceaseless rain for more than a week
wreaked havoc in Arunachal Pradesh
when multiple landslides occurred si-
multaneously at various places like Na-
harlagun, Itanagar, Nirjuli and Doimukh.
The state capital turned into a sinking
zone with villages tucked in between the
mountains and rivers.
By the time, state administration
could take any action, disaster had al-
ready taken its toll on the humans – 17
were dead and several others injured,
while nearly 250 houses, including the
RCC and kachcha ones were washed
away by the unprecedented disaster.
According to a state government in-
formation, the death toll did not cross 17,
but the unofficial sources said that the
human casualty was more than 24 and
there could more deaths from among the
injured. The dead and the injured were
rushed to the Ram Krishna Mission
Hospital at Itanagar, General Hospital at
Naharlagun and to a number of hospitals
in the neighbouring state of Assam.
“Twenty five persons are still under-
going treatment with one seriously in-
jured and the rest almost out of danger,”
said Dr. Moji Jini, the Chief Medical Of-
ficer of Naharlagun General Hospital.
If 25 persons are given medical care
only at the General Hospital, the num-
ber of injured is likely to be much higher
than the claim. Papum Pare deputy com-
missioner, Bidol Tayeng, said number of
casualties might rise as many were ei-
ther missing or struggling for life.
The state government called for the
assistance of the Indian Air Force, when
the state police and the CRPF personnel
began rescue operations. Two local boys
– Hamu Taja and Chakro Tachu – also
demonstrated their guts in saving five
people from getting drowned in Dikrong
river in Karsingsa.
It is not only the human casualty
that went high, the magnitude of this di-
saster of much higher order than the one
which had hit the state in 2006. On that
occasion, 9 people were killed at RWD
Colony in Itanagar.
State Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu
convened an emergency meeting of all
the ministers and the high-ranking offi-
cials to take stock of the flood mitiga-
tion action and followed up restoration
July 08 31