Guwahati: At least 31 persons, 27 in Mizoram and four in Assam, died and nine others remained missing following landslides triggered by heavy rains and squall in the past 24 hours, in a fallout of the Cyclone Remal that hit Bangladesh and Bengal on Monday.
An official in Mizoram told DH that bodies of 14 were retrieved till 7 pm on Tuesday while search was underway for seven others, who remained missing at Melthum in Aizawl district of Mizoram where a stone quarry collapsed on Monday.
Thirteen others died in separate landslides at six other places in Aizawl, Hlimen (four deaths), Salem (three), Falkawn and Aibawk (2 each), Lungsei and Kelsih (one each). Mizoram CM Lalduhoma, who took stock of the situation, announced ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to kin of the deceased.
In Assam, four persons, including a 17-year-old student died in Morigaon, Kamrup, Kamrup (metro) and Lakhimpur districts due to landslides and squall since Monday.
The student, Kaushik Bordoloi Amphi, died on the spot when a tree fell on an auto rickshaw at Digholbori in Morigaon district at around 7.30am, said a bulletin issued by Assam State State Disaster Management Authority.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said Putul Gogoi, a worker at the NHPC project in Gerukamukh in Dhemaji district in North Assam, died in a landslide. Sarma, who is in Odisha, spoke to the Chief Secretary and asked the administration to take necessary steps.
Administration blamed
At least 17 students were injured when trees fell on school buses in Sonitpur and Morigaon districts due to the squall that hit the state on Monday night. Many blamed the administration in Morigaon and Sonitpur district for the mishap involving school students as schools were not shut despite warnings about squall and heavy rains by the meteorology department on Sunday and Monday.
In Guwahati, students were seen rushing to schools amid the strong winds as the Kamrup (metro) district administration did not shut schools. A few schools, however, shut on their own.
Trees were uprooted, electric wires collapsed disrupting power supplies and many houses were damaged due to the strong winds in parts of Assam.
Mizoram government shut all offices and educational institutions on Tuesday due to the havoc created by heavy rains.
Flights connecting Mizoram capital Aizawl with Guwahati, Kolkata and Silchar were cancelled.