11 workers killed in Goa landslide, no let-up in rain

Eleven labourers were killed at Dicarpale, five kilometres from Margao in south Goa, in a landslide last night, triggered by heavy rainfall....

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Eleven labourers were killed at Dicarpale, five kilometres from Margao in south Goa, in a landslide last night, triggered by heavy rainfall. Elsewhere across the state, heavy rains hit life. Panjim recorded the highest rainfall in the state, around 216 mm. More than 100 families have been shifted from Margao and Panjim.

The workers killed at Dicarpale were from Uttar Pradesh and were working for a local carpenter. They were staying in a hut built on illegally occupied land. The police said a case of negligence has been filed against the local carpenter.

The workers were watching television around 9.30 am when mud and boulders rained down on the hutment. The fire brigade reached within moments but could not begin work as rescue equipment was not available. Around 3 am, two people were rescued and rushed Goa Medical College Hospital in Panjim. Their condition is still critical. Six more bodies were recovered this morning.

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Workers, however, fear the casualty count might be higher. A rough estimate says more than 14 workers were in the hut at the time of the accident.

Locals gheraoed Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane today when he visited the site of the landslide. ‘‘More people could have been rescued if the fire brigade had used machinery to clear the mud last night,’’ the locals said.

Several parts of Panjim, meanwhile, remained under water for the fourth day today even as heavy rains continued to lash the state. Hundreds of trees were uprooted in coastal areas in south Goa due to fierce winds.

Former chief minister Manohar Parrikar also came under fire as residents gheraoed him over ‘‘reckless beautification’’ measures for the IFFI last year, which they alleged had hit drainage.

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Castle Rock near Belgaum, along the Goa-Karnataka border, also saw landslides. Traffic on the South Central Railway line was disrupted and passengers of the Goa-Delhi Nizamuddin had to be brought by bus to Goa. The Roha-Panvel sector of Konkan Railway was under water — the Mandovi, Janshatabdi and Diva-Madgaon Expresses were cancelled while Mangala Express and Netravati were diverted via the Guntkul route.

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