GUWAHATI, June 26 - In the first fatality to occur in the city due to landslide this year, a 72-year-old woman died in a rain-induced landslide that took place in Kahilipara area here this morning.
Identified as Usha Bora, the woman was admitted to a private hospital immediately, but she succumbed to her injuries later. She had injuries on her head and feet.
Police said two other people were also injured in the incident that occurred at 7 am at a house near the Power House in Kahilipara.
�The incident happened when a guard wall fell on two houses. Altogether six people belonging to two families, who were still asleep at that time, were affected in the incident,� the source said.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued one Bharat Kalita at the site after a lengthy operation.
�The lower part of Kalita�s body was trapped under a heavy concrete boulder. It was slowly and carefully chipped off so that the person could be freed without injury and without destabilising the partially damaged structure,� an NDRF source said.
Several incidents of landslides triggered by incessant rains also occurred at Maligaon, Jalukbari and Amingaon.
A source in the ASDMA said that in the recent past, Guwahati city has witnessed a number of devastating landslides in its hilly belt.
�This is mainly because of unscientific urban land-use planning. The desperation to occupy land for settlement has become so great that communities end up building houses in areas that are environmentally unstable, with huge risks of landslides,� the source added.
More than 12 people had lost their lives due to landslide in the last four years in Guwahati.
Altogether 366 sites in Guwahati are vulnerable to landslide comprising 14 hills, including Kharghuli, Sunsali, Jyotinagar, Fatasil Ambari, Durgasarovar at Maligaon and Nilachal Hills near Kamakhya.
As a result of continuous rainfall today, the city witnessed severe waterlogging and traffic jam since the morning hours. Waterlogging was witnessed mainly at Panjabari, Kerakuchi, Sixmile, Hatigaon, Beltola, Jonali, Lachit Nagar and Chandmari, among others. A tree also got uprooted in Dighalipukhuri area.
