No clue of Gangnani man buried under landslide

Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, August 30

Personnel of the Border Road Organisation (BRO) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) today could not locate the man, who was buried under a landslide, triggered by heavy rainfall at Gangnani in Uttarkashi on Monday. The frantic search operation continued till late this evening.

Meanwhile, a JCB operator, who is working at the site to find the body as well as to clear the road, was injured. Bharosey Ram Nautiyal, a resident of Salang village, was hit by a boulder rolling downhill, the police said. He was taken to a nearby hospital. The instances of falling boulders have become a regular feature on the highway where the BRO is carrying out the road widening project.

The project has created a number of danger zones, jeopardising the lives of commuters on the Gangotri highway, say local residents.

Similar concerns have been aired by villagers from Palgaon in Barkot division of the Uttarkashi district where the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is carrying out road-widening work on the Yamnotri highway.

Subash Jugudi, Gram Pradhan of Pal Gaon, said, “We have asked the authorities concerned to construct retaining walls after widening the road to ensure villagers’ safety. We have got a written agreement for that. Contractors generally fail to construct retaining walls once the road is widened. This increases the risk of landslide.”

NHAI assistant engineer Navneet Pandey said the authority had agreed to the points listed by villagers. “We have assured them that the work will be done in accordance with the agreement,” he added.