CSOs condole, share thoughts

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 1: Many civil society organisations have condoled the loss of many precious lives as a result of the massive landslide which struck the premises of Territorial Army camp at Marangching Part 5 near Tupul railway station in Noney district on Wednesday night.
PANDM, IPAK, IPSA, ACOAM Lup, CLK, Kangla Mei, KIL and KSA have conveyed solidarity to all injured victims as well as the families of those killed by the catastrophic landslide.
They also wished speedy recovery of all the injured victims.
The soil of the State’s hill areas is not uniform. While it is quite hard in some areas, it is very soft in other places.
In addition to the soft soil texture, felling of trees from hill slopes might have contributed to the tragic landslide, said a joint press release issued by the CSOs.
Even as large sections of the hill slope were cut off and levelled and the authority concerned was appealed to take up necessary precautionary measures, construct retaining wall and proper drainage system, the appeal fell on deaf ears, the CSOs said quoting local villagers.
They alleged that the tragic landslide was not a natural calamity but a man made one.
They urged the railway authority to take up all possible safety measures so as to avoid such calamities in future.
Pointing out that the 141 metres high bridge of Jiribam-Imphal railway line which is said to be the world’s highest bridge is quite risky, the eight CSOs sought attention of the authorities and experts to take up all possible safety measures by taking into account the vibration it has to withstand when trains run over it.
They urged the authorities concerned to ensure that the bridge does not become a cause of death and casualties when trains start running.