TURA: Torrential rains for the last two days across the Garo Hills region has caused landslides cutting off road connectivity in many places while several low lying areas have been inundated by the rising waters of the rivers. No loss of life has been reported from any of the five districts of Garo Hills.
After a spell of rising temperatures for over a week, the monsoon has finally hit the region unleashing incessant rains since early Tuesday morning.
The rains have caused the Jinjiram river in the plains of West Garo Hills and the mighty Simsang in East and South Garo Hills to breach its banks and inundate low lying areas forcing many to move up to higher ground.
An alert is in place across the region in view of the rising water levels in Williamnagar, Baghmara, Garobadha, Phulbari, Rajabala and Bhaitbari caused by the torrential rains.
The main national highway (NH-217) connecting Tura with Dalu and Baghmara and Chokpot in south Garo Hills was cut off on Wednesday morning due to landslides at the 8th mile while in Karonggre a portion of the road has caved in. Columns of vehicles on either side lined up for hours awaiting passage while heavy machinery from the PWD got to work to clear the debris in the morning.
“There has been landslides and culverts damaged at many places on the same route but clearance work is underway. Landslides have also been reported from Spring Hills and Akonggre areas of Tura town,” informed West Garo Hills superintendent of police MGR Kumar adding that an alert has been sounded in the plains belt region due to increasing water levels of the Jinjiram.
Though the Tura-Dalu highway road has been restored for movement of light vehicles, district administration has temporarily halted plying of trucks and other heavy vehicles through the damaged portion of the highway.
“Movement of heavy vehicles with load is temporarily prohibited on Tura-Dalu NH till the damaged portions of road is rectified and made stable by the NHIDCL. Public buses can be allowed with condition that passengers will be offloaded in weak and damaged portion of road,” stated the order by the district magistrate.
Another major blockade has been reported from the remote Siju-Rewak region of South Garo Hills where one portion of a hill reportedly came crashing down on the road, informed district officials.
“Work is underway to restore connectivity with the use of JCB earthmovers by the PWD,” informed district police chief Abraham T Sangma. Landslides have also blocked the road from Sibbari to Chokpot town and Sub-Division while debris was being cleared from another blockade at Kapasipara on the main highway to Baghmara.
The rains in the upper region of Williamnagar, Siju and Rewak has caused the Simsang river to breach its banks causing inundation of the entire Baghmara market located in the lowlands. Rescue teams from the police’s fire and emergency wing and disaster management were engaged in rescuing several stranded people from the flooded areas since Wednesday morning.
In Tura, residents and traders from one portion of Araimile market of the town have been asked to move to a safer place after a landslide exposed the place to a possible collapse.
A portion of the AMPT road in Garobadha town was submerged by the rising waters of the nearby Ganol river causing a halt to traffic, while at Selsella town vehicular movement was cut off for sometime after the Singwil river swelled its banks and flooded the road.
With the rains having ceased since noon of Wednesday, authorities in Garo Hills are optimistic situation will normalise and the water levels in all the major rivers will recede.