A family of seven is trapped in the debris of a mudslide under the foothill of Annamalai in Tiruvannamalai town battered by a continuous torrential downpour induced by cyclone Fengal on Sunday evening.
Rescue efforts are on for the second consecutive day on Monday with the NDRF team, comprising 30 members and two sniffer dogs, along with personnel from the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services engaged in the task. The house, in which the family is trapped, is in a narrow street located on the foothill, considered very sacred by both Hindus and Jains. A total of 170 personnel are involved in the rescue effort.
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According to eyewitness reports, huge boulders from the hill came rolling down accompanied by red soil, burying three houses in VOC Nagar. In one of those houses, the family remains trapped. It happened in the evening around 4 pm and rescue work was hampered due to incessant rains. District Collector Bhaskara Pandian, said “the boulder and soil which came down from a height of about 100 ft had completely buried the house.”
Those trapped have been identified as the husband and wife and their five children, including four girls.
Another mudslide in another location early in the morning has rattled residents. Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister EV Velu, accompanied by District Collector Bhaskara Pandian and other officials visited the site to oversee the rescue operation. “Huge boulders are underneath the debris surrounding the house and it is very difficult to deploy JCBs and excavators since the place is a very narrow street. Heavy machinery could not be moved in. It is very challenging and we have to depend upon manpower to remove them,” Velu told newspersons. An expert team specialised in breaking boulders from Yercaud hills and a team from IIT Madras is joining the efforts, he added.
The annual Deepam festival, drawing lakhs of people, is slated for December 13, when a massive fire would be lit on the hill top. ‘Annalaiyar Deepam’ is very special in Tamil Nadu and the festival is centuries old.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister MK Stalin visited the worst affected Villupuram district and distributed relief material to those in the relief centres. Interacting with the residents, he assured that steps are being taken on a war-footing to restore normalcy. While at Tindivanam, he spoke over a video call with Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam who is coordinating the relief and restoration works in Cuddalore, which also bore the brunt of cyclone Fengal.
“We will carry out a survey and provide compensation for the losses. Also, we will request the Union Government to send a team to assess the losses to standing crops and property as well as public infrastructure,” he later told newspersons.
For the second day, he dismissed the criticism of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami against the government’s handling of the cyclone and heavy rain. “He is the Opposition Leader and he continues to level allegations. But, it is not necessary to respond to them. The people are aware of what we are doing,” he added.
With a Railway bridge near Tindivanam having been submerged by flood waters, three trains arriving to Chennai have been stopped at Villupuram, while a few have been diverted via Tiruvannamalai. Buses have been deployed in and around Villupuram for the benefit of passengers to reach Chennai.
