Raigad Landslide: Collector sends proposal to Maha govt to declare 57 missing persons dead at Irshalwadi

The death toll in the Irshalwadi landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district might go up, with the collector sending a proposal to the state government to declare 57 missing persons dead, an official said.

Before the rescue operation was called off at the hamlet located on a hill on Sunday, 27 bodies had been pulled out. Collector Yogesh Mhase said they sent a proposal to the state government on Monday to declare the 57 missing persons dead. If the government accepts the proposal, the toll in the landslide that hit Irshalwadi on July 19 would reach 84.

As the village, overlooked by Irshalgad fort, a popular trekking destination, does not have a pucca road, earthmovers and excavators could not be easily mobilised and the search and rescue operation had to be carried out manually before being called off, said officials.

Days after a devastating landslide struck at village Taliye in the district two years ago, authorities had declared 31 missing persons dead which had taken the toll to 87. The Raigad district witnessed its first landslide in Mahad taluka in 2005. Since then, nearly 350 people have died in such incidents, including the 27 deaths at Irshalwadi, said officials.

After the 2005 landslide, a survey was carried out by experts and 84 villages were found to be vulnerable. A similar survey was conducted in 2021 and the number of landslide-prone villages went up to 103, said an official. There are currently 135 tribal hamlets in the district that do not have access to roads, electricity, potable water and health facilities, the official said.