Amid the rising death toll in the Irshalwadi mudslide, the Maharashtra government has decided to shift residents of all landslide-prone areas in the state to safer locations, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Friday.
In a statement in the legislative assembly, Shinde said the tribal hamlet of Irshalwadi in Raigad district was not on the list of landslide-prone areas.
With the discovery of six more bodies on Friday, the death toll in the incident rose to 22. The CM said over 100 people are still missing.
“A decision was taken in the cabinet today to shift people from landslide-prone areas. They will be rehabilitated and moved to a safer place permanently,” Shinde said. He said earlier people from landslide-prone areas were moved to safer places in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Kolhapur districts, but now it will be done across the state.
Shinde said the residents of Irshalwadi were first shifted to a school, but 60 containers were ordered to house them. Until they are rehabilitated, they will be accommodated in those containers, said the CM.
Land has been identified for their rehabilitation and state agency CIDCO has been asked to build houses immediately, he said.
The landslide hit the tribal village in Khalapur tehsil of the coastal Raigad district, about 80 km from Mumbai, around 10.30 pm on July 19.
At least 17 of 48 houses in the village, located on a hill slope, were fully or partially buried under the debris.
As the village, overlooked by Irshalgad fort, a popular trekking destination, does not have a pucca road, earthmovers and excavators could not be easily mobilised and the rescue operations were being carried out manually, officials said.
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