Landslide near Sambalpur disrupts communication

Sambalpur, Sep 24 (UNI) Road communication between Kolkata and Mumbai was disrupted from midnight last night following a landslide, caused due to incessant rain at Laxmi Dunguri on the NH-6 on the outskirts of Sambalpur town.

Tons of stones, mud and a number of trees were lying scattered on the road.

Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the road till this afternoon.

However, no casualty was reported.

NH authorities and police managed to restore communication partially by 1230 hrs today after removing stones and mud by heavy machineries.

To get over the situation temporarily, the police diverted the light vehicles and two wheelers via Hirakud Dam.

But truckers plying on the route suffered and daily commuters between Sambalpur-Bargarh and Sambalpur-Burla had to cancel their trips.

However, no damage was caused to the railway line running parallel to the NH on this point.

NH executive engineer Dinesh Patnaik said total normalcy could be revived by tonight.

A protection wall would be raised soon at this place to protect both the NH and the railway line to avoid any unforeseen incident in future, he said.

UNI