The three cars which were hit by falling rocks from the cliff overlooking NH 29 near the Chümoukedima police checkpost on July 4.
Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 4
Tragedy struck the Chümoukedima stretch of the NH 29 on July 4 as a rockslide caused by heavy downpour claimed 2 lives and wounded 3.
The bone-chilling incident was captured on film (dashcam of a car following behind), which immediately went viral. It occurred sometime after 5 pm.
As per the video clipping, the rocks fell from the unstable cliff overlooking the stretch of NH 29, near the now shut Chümoukedima police check-post hitting 3 cars. Back in August 2011, the cliff overlooking the checkpost caved in following a bout of “cloud burst” burying the highway and the checkpost in sludge and forcing the police to abandon the post for some days. Fortunately, there was no human casualty that time. The affected portion of the cliff ran some few hundred feet across.
The victims, including the injured, were in 3 different cars among a line of other stationary vehicles, as traffic on the said stretch was put to a stop by rainwater runoff gushing on to the highway.
According to the Chümoukedima district administration, 1 died on the spot and the other succumbed on the way to hospital.
The two deceased victims were in different cars. The Dimapur police informed that the deceased victims included a havildar of the 3rd NAP (IR) identified as Thanghiu (48 years), who died on the way to hospital. He was in an Alto ahead of the two other cars which were hit.
Two other passengers in his car were injured, one seriously, who were identified as Constable Piming Khiam (42 years) and the other, a woman identified as Toiniu (45 years).
The other deceased victim was an employee of the Excise Department, identified as Temjennochet (55 years), who was travelling alone in a Wagon-R.
The third car had two occupants, the driver and a woman. The driver survived with no injury and the woman escaped with minor injury, the police informed.
CM Rio condoles, asserts to pursue immediate steps for safety infrastructure
The tragedy on what was touted as the Narendra Modi government’s gift to Nagaland after assuming power in Delhi in 2014 also had the Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio taking to social media expressing sympathy to the families of the deceased and praying for the speedy recovery of the wounded.
He added that the state government was taking all necessary steps to provide emergency services, grant of ex-gratia for the deceased of Rs 4 lakh each and the necessary medical assistance to the injured.
The unusually long thread from the CM went on to state that the place where the tragedy occurred has been known for rockfalls and landslides and earning an unofficial nickname— “pakala pahar” (roughly translated as crazy hill). He tagged the PMO, Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari.
This was followed by the CM assertively claiming, “The State Govt will continue to pursue with the GoI & NHIDCL to take immediate steps for safety infrastructure at the dangerous locations all along the highway. It concerns the life & safety of our citizens. The agency concerned must put the required safety infrastructure in place.”
He maintained that with the technology available to the Government of India, there should be no compromise in ensuring safety of the citizens.
Dimapur Police shuts highway stretch
The Dimapur Police has directed the general public to avoid travelling along the National Highway-29 Chümoukedima-Kohima route stretch as further rockslide and landslide cannot be ruled out due to incessant rainfall and inclement environmental conditions. Accordingly, all traffic along the said route will be diverted to 7th Mile-Shokhuvi -Pimla-Mhainamtsi-Punglwa-Jharnapani and vice-versa by-pass route with immediate effect till further notice.
NHIDCL ‘snubbed’ NPCB
Meanwhile, the day’s tragedy brought out some skeletons, hidden in officialdom, about the Dimapur-Kohima 4-laning project. According to official Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB) sources, the NHIDCL repeatedly ignored the former’s directive for taking precautionary safety measures on the said stretch.
Documents accessed by The Morung Express indicated that the NPCB flagged safety concern, writing to the NHIDCL atleast three times in 2020 and 2021. Two of the letters dated to May and September 2020. The May 2020 letter, citing an earlier letter, sought from the NHIDCL ‘Environmental Clearance” as required by section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The NHIDCL claimed exemption from the requirement, which was acknowledged by the NPCB in a follow up letter in September of the same year. While acknowledging the exemption, the NPCB maintained, “The adverse impacts on the environment and threats to human life and property due to disturbance of the environment in the present project cannot be ignored.”
Therefore, under section 20 of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act 1974, it directed the NHIDCL to furnish, within 15 days, Detailed Project Report of the 4-lane project and specific details of ensuring the safety of the 4-lane. It also directed against use of dynamites on the ‘Pakala Pahar’ stretch of NH 29, which has been a known geologically sensitive hillock “till scientific justifications are made available.”
The NPCB wrote again in February 2021 reminding the NHIDCL of the September 2020 directive. This reminder was preceded by a rockslide in the same stretch on February 2, 2021, in which 3 commuters were injured and vehicles damaged.
An NPCB official commented, “The NHIDCL maybe exempted from obtaining Environmental Clearance. However, they were directed to take precautionary measures to avoid such accidents but they didn’t take heed.”
While maintaining the NHIDCL should have taken remedial measures, the official said that the former has some explaining to do and complying with the NPCB directive under the Environment (Protection) Act.
Related News:
-NH 29 Rockslide: NHIDCL ‘snubbed’ NPCB
-NH 29 Rockslide: Survey points to 'man-made disaster'
-NH 29 Rockslide: ‘Questionable engineering, poor workmanship, substandard materials’
-July 4 incident was a natural calamity: NHIDCL Head
-‘NHIDCL claims might not be accurate’
