LANDSLIP IN THODUPUZHA

LANDSLIP IN THODUPUZHA

Landslip buries 28 houses in Thodupuzha

Twenty-eight houses were damaged and 20 acres of land came under flood waters and debris following a major landslip at Kozhipilly in Velliyamattom village under Thodupuzha taluk on Wednesday8th August,2013.Though the threatening rumblings of earth have been muted at Cheeyappara in Idukki, flooding and landslides continued to be a threat in several parts of the district, which has sustained an estimated loss of Rs. 27.5 crore during this monsoon season.No one has been injured in Wednesday’s landslide that occurred in the early hours of Wednesday and several families escaped in the nick of time. People who were robbed of their homes were shifted the Government LP School, Nelliyani.Search operations at the site of the landslide that killed three people on Monday at Cheeyampara on National Highway 49 between Kochi and Dhanushkodi were wrapped up on Wednesday. The search, led by personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, the Army and the Navy has officially been ended, said a revenue department official. The road at Cheeyappara has been cleared for traffic after nearly three days.

Devikulam Tahsildar P. Dharamarajan said there was no missing person report related to the Cheeyappara incident so far. However, the NDRF teams would be around in the district for some more days, he said.The Revenue Department, which has been keeping tab of losses, said 146 houses were fully damaged and 1,256 houses partially damaged in the monsoon fury with most of them over the past three days in the High Ranges. Places in Thodupuzha taluk like Rajakkad, Kunjithanny, Thadiyampad and Painau have sustained most of the damage.Kuzhipilly, where the landslip occurred on Wednesday, is about 20 km from Thodupuzha and is a remote hilly area of the taluk where tribal people live in relative isolation. Large areas of land has developed cracks and are likely to collapse if there are more rains in the coming days even as the 13-km stretch between 6 Mile and Walara waterfall on National Highway 49 faces serious threat of landslide.“It is a tough job to vacate people from their homes,”said Mohandas, a panchayat member, commenting on the incident at Kuzhuppilly on Wednesday. A portion of the Nalliyani-Kulamavu road has also washed away in the landslip. Mohandas said digging carried out as part of road-laying work caused it.

Prof. John Kurakar