Braving a heavy stench emanating from under the debris of landslide at Malin in Pune district of western Maharashtra, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel on Saturday extricated more number of bodies from under the slushy terrain, taking the toll in Wednesday’s calamity to 82.
“Till late this evening, we have recovered as many as 82 bodies from under the slush and debris of the landslide at Malin. We apprehend that there are still 68 people trapped under the debris. The chances of their survival are dim,” Pune-based Commandant of the National Disaster Response Force Alok Awasthi told The Pioneer over telephone on Saturday night.
Awasthi, who is supervising the NDRF operation at Malin, said that a lot of stench was emanating from under the slush and debris, thus giving an indication of the decomposition of bodies lying underneath. “But, we are continuing the operation as before. We will continue the operation till we account for all the missing persons,” he said.
Unlike on Friday where there was no rain, the NDRF personnel had to contend with heavy rains lashing the area in intermittent spells all through Saturday. “Heavy rains that the area received in stretches came in the way of our operation,” Awasthi said.
Of the bodies extricated so far, there are nearly 40 women and 10 children. The landslide, which occurred at around 6 am on Wednesday, had crushed as many as 66 properties, including 45 households, in Malin village. Malin, which forms a part of the Bhimshankar Hills, has incidentally has been identified as one of the eco-sensitive villages in Western Ghat by a High level Working Group (HlWG) headed by Dr K Kasturirangan.
Though the total population of Malin village is 704, the district officials have pegged the number of people living in the part of the village where the mishap took place, at 168.
While the Maharashtra government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the each person killed in Wednesday’s landslide, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had early in the week announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh to each of the bereaved family members, under the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.