From Bhupen Goswami
Guwahati : Four people, including two women cricketers, have died and five people have gone missing due to landslides triggered by heavy rains in Mawanei in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya on Friday. Officials gave this information. Sarpanch Bah Mud from Mawanei area told media persons that the bodies of cricketer Razia Ahmed and local player Ferozia Khan, who had played at the national level from the state, were removed from the rubble. Khasi Hills district Superintendent of Police Sylvester Nongtinger said that work was on to find the missing people. Meghalaya Cricket Association Secretary General Gideon Kharkongor said Razia had been representing the state in various national level tournaments since 2011-12. Various players have mourned the death of Razia. Women’s cricketer Kakoli Chakraborty said, “Razia will be missed. We pray for the peace of his soul. An official of the State Disaster Management Authority told reporters that the incessant rains since Monday had caused huge havoc in the state. Officials said that police had engaged two laborers in their quarters in Shillong to clear the debris, who died on Thursday. There have been incidents of landslides at many places in the state and PWD employees have been engaged in debris removal work.
West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh said NH-62 will be closed and PWD is exploring options to maintain contact with the city of Baghmara in South Garo Hills. He said that we are trying to connect Baghmara to Nengkhara-Siju-Karukol, Chokpot-Siju and Ramchanga / Dumanikura to Dalu. Deputy Commissioner of South Garo Hills, HB Marak said the reconstruction of the bridge will take time as the entire section has been washed away. On the other hand, at least six persons, including a child traveling in a jeep, were swept away by the flowing of the Xinjiang River near Mawzai village in the southwestern Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.
The incident occurred when the jeep was passing through the water to cross the river as the bridge over the river collapsed several months ago.
Police said the incident took place at around 6 am on Tuesday morning when the occupants of the vehicle were heading towards Nongstoian, the district headquarters of West Khasi Hills. Police said the incident occurred around 6 am yesterday when the occupants of the vehicle were from West Khasi Hills The district headquarters were heading towards Nongstoian. There were eight people, and all of them are from Mavzai village in Warsaw Lingdoh region,” police said.
Two passengers, including 40-year-old Marshall Myorthong and 25-year-old Dapberlin Lyngdoh, survived the scorching waters by being able to swim.
A rescue team from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Fire and Emergency Services were commissioned into service to carry out search and rescue operations.
