In a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday, residents and local authorities of 18 isolated tribal villages in Maharashtra’s Raigad district pleaded with him to take precautions to protect them from suffering the same fate as the hamlet of Irshalwadi, which was completely destroyed by a massive landslide.
According to the letter, these settlements are located in isolated, steep terrain without motorable or dirt roads. On Wednesday night, a landslide hit Irshalwadi in the Khalapur tehsil of the Raigad district, killing at least 16 people.
Heavy equipment like earth movers and excavators could not swiftly reach the area for rescue efforts since the community is located on a hilltop, 1.5 hours’ walk from the closest pucca road, authorities added. According to a resident of the unfortunate hamlet, “the country became independent 75 years ago, but the tribal Thakar population of Irshalwadi did not have a pucca road.”
The following tribal hamlets lack (pucca) roads and communication infrastructure in a similar manner. According to the letter, “We are giving a list of these villages so that the government may take preventative steps to avoid a recurrence of another Irshalwadi (tragedy) and deploy contemporary equipment for rescue efforts in the event that such an occurrence occurs.
Besides Isrhalwadi, the letter mentioned the villages of Hashyachi Patti near the hill station of Matheran, Katwan, Changwadi and Gaarbhat in Khalapur tehsil, and Dhakwadi, Tungi, Bekrewadi, Aasalwadi, Nanyancha Maal, Manha Dhangarwada, Dhamandand, Borichiwadi, Bhutavaliwadi, Sagachiwadi, Chinchwadi, Aashane Thakurwadi and Kirawaliwadi as vulnerable villages.
