Landslide buries bus in Himachal: among 16 killed, eight of 2 families

One of the families, hailing from Phagog village in Bilaspur district, lost two children and two women: Naksh (7), his brother Aarav (4), their mother Anjana Devi (29) and aunt Kamlesh Devi (36).
However, two rescued children of Kamlesh Devi, Arushi (10) and her brother Shorya (8), were discharged from IIMS, Bilaspur, on Wednesday. Later, Shorya performed the last rites of all four deceased members of his family.

Another family from Pundad village in Hamirpur district lost Sanjeev Kumar (35), his wife Vimla Devi (33), their son Rohit (8) and Sanjeev’s mother-in-law Kanta Devi (55).

Kamlesh’s relative Surinder Singh said, “Both women and the children were on their way back to Phagog in the private bus after attending a function at Anjana’s parents’ home in Gagloh village on Tuesday evening when the incident took place. Anjana’s relatives in Gagloh offered to drop them off at Phagog, but Anjana insisted that they would take the bus.”
“Anjana’s husband Vipin Kumar, an Army personnel, arrived home today. Kamlesh’s husband Raj Kumar works in a private company,” Surinder added

The Bilaspur district authorities, meanwhile, identified the deceased boy as Rahul (7).
Bilaspur SP Sandeep Dhawal said, “The road was cleared and opened for traffic. The hilltop collapse has formed three vulnerable cliffs, which local PWD officials are removing.”

A total of 15 bodies were recovered on Tuesday, while several others were feared trapped under mud and sludge, as a portion of a hilltop came crashing down on the bus on its way from Marotan to Ghumarwin, with at least 18 passengers on board, near Ballu Ghat under Jhandutta tehsil, officials said.

Jhandutta Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Arshiya Sharma said the road on which the accident took place is around 55 km-long Major District Road (MDR) linking Jhandutta and Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district. “The rescue operation is now over. Tuesday was Valmiki Jayanti, a gazetted holiday, so there was less traffic on the road and fewer passengers on board the private bus, which generally ferries around 50 passengers during the evening. Before winding up the rescue operation, we told people if their relatives or friends were missing, they could reach us through the helplines, but we didn’t get any response.”

Asked about locals’ claim that the administration was “informed about the possible landslide at the accident site,” the SDM said, “This location has never witnessed a landslide. The landslide-prone area, Mandva, is around 10 km away from the accident site. People are mistakenly mixing up these two locations.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed deep grief over the Bilaspur landslide. “Sixteen people lost their lives in the tragic landslide in Bilaspur. Two children were rescued. The landslide occurred on a link road, apparently due to continuous rainfall for two days. The state has been experiencing extreme weather conditions,” Sukhu told reporters in Shimla on Wednesday.

Asked about locals’ claim of informing the district administration about the vulnerable landslide site, Sukhu said, “If this is the case, the local administration should have acted swiftly.”
Sukhu announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of each victim, and praised rescue teams for their prompt action.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who was in Kullu for Dussehra festival, immediately rushed to the spot, while Urban Development Minister Rajesh Dharmani, who was in Delhi for a meeting, also returned to Bilaspur, Sukhu said.
Dharmani attended the cremations of several victims in Bilaspur and met the kin of the victims.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh from the PM National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured.

According to the district administration, Sarif Khan, 25; Rajnish Kumar, 36; Chuni Lal, 52; Rajeev alias Sonu, 40; Bakshi Ram, 42; Narender Sharma, 52; Krishan Lal, 30; Praveen Kumar, 40; Kanta Devi, 51; Vimla Devi, 35; Sanjeev Kumar, 35; and Rahul, 7, were killed in the landslide, along with bus driver and conductor.

District disaster management teams, the state police personnel and locals cleared the road on Wednesday as the area remains vulnerable to further landslides. Authorities have urged commuters to avoid hilly link roads in the region until the weather stabilises.

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