Nine dead, more than 50 missing in landslide in India
At least 15 people have been killed after a massive landslide destroyed a tea plantation workers’ settlement in India, local media reported.
The incident took place in Rajakkad in Idukki district of Kerala, India, early on Friday morning.
The Hindustan Times reported that around 50 others are feared trapped in a mound of slush and rock debris.
According to the report, so far, at least 16 people were rescued and taken to the hospital for treatment.
“It is a major tragedy. It is a hilly terrain and some roads connecting to the settlement were washed away in torrential rain. We have sought the Air Force help for airlifting the injured but we were told it will be difficult in inclement weather,” State Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan to the Times.
He added that a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has arrived at the scene.
Meanwhile, local people said the area has been witnessing heavy rains over the last three days and power and communication networks in the area were disrupted due to this. This delayed the rescue work. Since the mishap took place in the early hours, many of those affected were in deep slumber due to which they couldn’t escape, they said.
“We have information that at least 84 people lived in the settlement. Most of them are from neighboring Tamil Nadu. And there was also a canteen to cater to their needs at the settlement,” Parthasarathy, a social worker from the area said quoted by the Hindustan Times.
He added that the death toll may rise up.
The place where the incident took place is about 25 kilometers away from hill resort Munnar which was ravaged by the 2018 flood.
The India Metrological Department (IMD) has declared a red alert in three districts, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Idukki, and orange alert in five other districts. Many rivers are in spate after a heavy downpour and the irrigation department said shutters of some dams, including Idukki, will be opened if the wet condition continued.
Officials from the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment say that 294,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit have been exported from the province to foreign countries over the past year.
According to them, the total value of these exports amounts to $519 million.
Abdulbaqi Bina, Deputy Head of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment, says the products were exported to India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Canada and several other countries.
Meanwhile, fresh and dried fruit traders are calling on the government to provide alternative transit routes, new markets, and greater facilitation for obtaining visas and transportation for the export of these products.
This comes as nearly 59,000 tons of fresh and dried fruit were exported from Kandahar to foreign countries
The case of 87 Afghan students seeking extensions of their study visas has reached the Islamabad High Court, with the students also asking for protection from arrest, detention and deportation, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
According to Pakistani journalist Tahir Khan, the students have petitioned the court to order the government to extend their visas and prevent law-enforcement agencies from harassing, arresting, detaining or deporting them solely because their previous study visas have expired.
During Friday’s hearing, lawyer Aimal Khan Mandokhel told the court that Pakistan’s Interior Ministry had issued study visas to the Afghan students about a year ago. However, the students say authorities have since stopped extending existing visas and issuing new ones.
The Afghan Students Union at the International Islamic University Islamabad has also said Pakistani authorities have suspended study visa extensions for Afghan students for an extended period. It added that several students have allegedly been arrested and deported in recent months.
The hearing was adjourned following an exchange between Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and lawyer Aimal Khan Mandokhel.
The case is expected to be heard again later this month.
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