Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Mizoram landslide toll reaches 17

AIZAWL, May 15 – The toll in the Saturday Aizawl landslide incident has gone up to 17 today and 15 bodies have been recovered so far.

Eleven houses were totally damaged and as many as seven four-wheelers and nine two-wheelers were also damaged in the calamity.

Meanwhile, Mizo National Front (MNF), the principal Opposition party in Mizoram has demanded for an ‘independent judicial inquiry’ into the building collapse.

The landslide had swept away nine houses including a PWD office building at Laipuitlang in north Aizawl killing 17 people and leaving many others untraced.

A PWD office building, which had been vacated about a year ago after a crack developed on it, collapsed under the impact of the landslide and fell on nine houses below killing the people.

The MNF has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, who holds the PWD portfolio and his younger brother Lal Thanzara, Parliamentary Secretary for PWD, owning responsibility for the incident.

Meanwhile, Lal Thanhawla today convened a meeting with top government officials at his office chamber, in which they discussed measures to prevent further calamities in the State capital.

The meeting also discussed over setting up of a Magisterial inquiry and ex-gratia payment of Rs1.5 lakh each to the deceased’s families and Rs 35,000 grant each to the owners of the collapsed concrete buildings.

Elsewhere, five persons were injured and around 40 houses were damaged in Serchhip district in Mizoram due to pre monsoon rain and storm.