An unexpected landslide occurred on the first day of the week, Monday morning, on Babhanbe Hill, Hazaribagh district, where large volumes of mud and boulders tumbled down the hill. This accident, which occurred due to constant heavy rainfall in the last few days, led to panic amongst residents and normal life within the locality was affected. Residents who were located even hundreds of meters away on the hill experienced the shudders and heard the roar as the earth collapsed.
The landslide left behind huge stones, soil and other debris in parts of the area, which necessitated movement difficulty and even safety risks. Residents of the area came out of their houses in panic, fearing that there would be more slides since it is raining in the district and it has not stopped yet. Several houses at the bottom of the hill were hit by a torrent of mud, and open lands have been filled with muddy slurry. Governments have encouraged residents of susceptible areas to remain vigilant and, in the case of emergencies, move to temporary, safer areas.
The hillside collapse has also blocked small roads connecting them, thus making it hard to reach some neighbourhoods easily. There is an effort to get the debris off the road, although this has been made difficult by the fact that it has been raining and the roads are slippery. There is an excavator working, a group of people is removing big stones from the pathways, and the authorities are evaluating the safety of the remaining slope. In certain locations, there is also the placement of safety barriers that will ensure that there is no further damage in the event of any subsequent slides.
To most of the locals, the incident has brought to mind past fears of encounters with disasters that have been related to the monsoon in the district. This season in particular, the hill has been so unstable with the mixture of saturated soil and steep land. Residents have been crying out to have long-term preventive actions that will minimize the possibility of such occurrences in future, like retaining walls or better drainage mechanisms, among others.
There are no reports of casualties yet, but the damage that has been done to the property, as well as the continuing danger to life, has put the community on an alert position. Emergency teams are keeping the area under watch, and the rescue teams are waiting in the wings in case of deterioration of the situation. The district administration has not only advised against trivial travel in the area close to the hill, but it has also advised motorists and pedestrians to adopt alternative routes until the debris is cleared off completely.
As it appears that weather reports indicate more rain to come in the following days, there is a fear that the loose slopes might move once again. In the intervening period, citizens of Hazaribagh are determined to be ready to go through another ordeal since they are already reeling after the Babhanbe Hill landslide.
