Nagaland: 1 killed after heavy rain causes landslides; portion of NH-29 affected

The Nagaland state disaster response force (SDRF) has retrieved six bodies by Wednesday afternoon from the debris of a massive landslide that occurred late Tuesday night in Pherima along National Highway (NH)-29 between capital Kohima and the state’s commercial hub Dimapur,officials said.
Among the deceased were one Khriesangulie (46 years) and his mother-in-law Anhieü (60 years) who were travelling with their family members and had stopped to eat at a roadside eatery when the landslide occurred. Officials said the other deceased were identified as Samir Dutta (45), Daju (60) and Vijay (28-30), all residents of Pherima, and one Sopon Biswas (50), reportedly from Tripura.
One roadside hotel, several other structures and a vehicle were said to have been washed downstream by the landslide. At least five persons were reported to have sustained injuries from the incident.
The SDRF search and rescue operations were launched at 4am and following intense search, assisted by youth volunteers from nearby villages, the bodies were recovered, an official of the Chümoukedima district administration told HT.
Officials said road clearing works are in progress but the national highway is now completely cut off for vehicular movement. It has also been learnt that a huge portion of the same highway collapsed into the nearby Chathe river in New Chümoukedima (also called Paglapahar) on Tuesday evening. Authorities say approximately 150 vehicles are lying stranded between Pherima and New Chümoukedima.
The NH-29 is a major lifeline to several districts of the state as well as the neighbouring Manipur state. Most of the stranded vehicles particularly goods carrying trucks were bound for Manipur.
Chief minister Neiphiu Rio took to X to raise his concern with the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) for immediate restoration measures.
“I’m deeply concerned by large scale destruction on NH-29 caused by incessant rainfall. Authorities are on-site assessing the situation & helping those affected. The State Govt will continue to pursue with the GoI & @nhidcl for immediate measures & restore normalcy at the earliest,” Rio tweeted on Wednesday morning.
Deputy chief minister in charge of National Highway TR Zeliang expressed sadness over the unfortunate calamity leading to loss of life and properties. He had also tweeted on X that the state government will immediately take measures to alleviate the losses and assess the situation leading to the cause of such frequent debacle on the NH-29 four-lane road
Meanwhile, authorities have notified a fresh travel advisory prohibiting vehicular movement on NH-29 between Kohima and Dimapur and diversion of traffic via Dimapur-Niuland-Ghotovi-Zhadima-Kohima for small and light passenger vehicles. Following the development, the Kohima district administration has issued a notice asking the public in the state capital not to resort to panic-buying of essential commodities and fuel.
“The district administration of Kohima is collaborating with its counterparts of neighbouring districts to ensure that the supply of essential commodities and fuel are in no way affected by continuing the supply through available alternate routes,” the notice said.