At least seven persons are feared trapped after huge boulders fell on their houses during a landslip in Tiruvannamalai on Sunday.
The police said that around 4.30 p.m., the boulders fell on the houses located on 11th Street in VOC Nagar in the Tiruvannamalai Corporation limits.
Immediately, residents alerted firefighters and the Tiruvannamalai town police. Three teams of firefighters rushed to the spot. Collector D. Bhaskara Pandian and SP R. Sudhakar also visited the spot.
“We have evacuated the residents living around the boulders to ensure their safety. The rescue efforts have resumed after the rain subsided,” Mr. Pandian told The Hindu.
The police said more than 500 residents around the accident spot were accommodated in community halls.
Power was cut in the area to facilitate rescue operations.
Earth movers have been deployed to remove the boulder and loose soil.
Forest officials said that Tiruvannamalai range has seven RFs including Chippakadu, Athipakkam, Adinamalai and Sorakolathur, covering 13,000 hectares. The Annamalai Hills comes under Adinamalai RF with over 900 hectares, spreading nine kms radius. The hills are 2,668 feet-high from the sea level where maha deepam lit atop the hillock every year.
Land around the foothills to a distance of six kms belongs to the revenue department. Encroachments, mostly houses, remain the challenge for forest officials to monitor the RFs.
Published – December 02, 2024 12:45 am IST
