Study of Western Ghats will be done, says Rajnath Singh

New Delhi, Aug 1: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said a study will be conducted on the populated areas of the Western Ghats after a landslide wiped out a village in Pune district, killing at least 50 people.

"We will make sure that scientific studies are done on the populated areas of the Western Ghats so that such incidents can be prevented in the future," Rajnath Singh, who visited the site Thursday, told the Lok Sabha.

"We will learn from this incident," he added.

The home minister reiterated that full cooperation and financial assistance from the central government and all its ministries will be extended to the Maharashtra government.

"Rescue operations are going on round the clock even though incessant rains are hampering the rescue work. Nine teams of the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) consisting of 380 members are deployed at the site," he said.

According to the home minister, 158 people are feared trapped under the mudslide and a massive section of a hillock which crashed on the Malin village in Maharashtra's Pune district early Wednesday morning.

IANS