Irshalwadi was not in list of landslide prone spots: Shinde

Khalapur: Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said that the tragedy-hit Irshalwadi village was not in the list of landslide prone locations drawn up earlier for rehabilitation.

Early on Thursday, Shinde visited Irshalwadi, which was hit by a massive mudslide, to oversee the rescue operation. He said, “We had already given directions for rehabilitating people living in landslide prone zones during the monsoon, but Irshalwadi was not in that list.”

“About 60 containers have been arranged for temporary accommodation of those rescued. I have spoken to the divisional commissioner, and permanent rehabilitation of these people will be done soon,” said Shinde after returning to Namrichawadi.

Shinde saluted the rescue work being done by the jawans of the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) and other teams.

“It is an unfortunate incident. I salute the jawans of the NDRF and other teams who are working in adverse conditions. About 103 people have been accounted for so far and this includes the 13 dead.”

“Some of the villagers were out working in the fields; some of the children were at ashram schools in Panvel. We are trying to identify them and verify their names,” said Shinde, who was accompanied by Girish Mahajan, BJP minister.

Asked about criticism from the Opposition leaders that the tragedy could have been averted, Shinde said “This is not the time for politics. We are focussing on the rescue operation and rehabilitation of those rescued.”

He added, “The state is firmly supporting all those affected. It has continued to rain, and the entire mountain has come down. There is nearly 20feet deep debris that needs to be removed.

“It is a very difficult situation as machinery cannot be brought here. We had kept two helicopters ready but due to the weather conditions, they cannot be flown to the landslide location.”

Shinde said that Union home minister Amit Shah had telephoned and assured him of all the support from the Centre.