Shillong: Landslides triggered by heavy
rains has blocked several roads, including the National
Highway 44 at Sonapur in Meghalaya, disrupting road traffic to
Tripura, Mizoram and southern Assam since last night.
Thousands of vehicles are left stranded for a long
stretch of NH-44 due to major landslides in two places of the
landslide-prone Sonapur area of Jaintia Hills district.
Officials expect that the communication would be
restored by tonight.
"Rescue work is being carried by the police and the
General Road Engineering Force (GREF). Vehicles are stranded
on the highway," district deputy commissioner T Dkhar said
today.
The landslides at Tongseng (Narpuh) and Sunapur caused
by heaving rains during the past two days blocked the traffic
from 9 am yesterday, halting hundreds of vehicles on the
arterial road linking Barak Valley of Assam, Tripura and
Mizoram with the rest of the country.
Authorities have also sought help from cement
companies in the area for the road-clearing work.
The Sonapur section of the National Highway has
remained affected by landslides for several years now despite
government efforts like construction of tunnel to control the
menace.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 21:23