Two more bodies recovered at landslide site at Karnataka's Uttara Kannada district
Bengaluru: Two more bodies were recovered on Thursday during the search and rescue operations in Shirur village in Uttara Kannada district, where a massive landslide claimed lives of six people two days ago, officials said.
Vehicular traffic has been temporarily suspended on National Highway 66, where the incident occurred on Tuesday, they said.
After an intensive rescue and search operation by the local police, a team of National Disaster Response Force, fire and emergency services and officials of other agencies amid rains, four bodies were recovered by Tuesday evening.
"Search and rescue operations have been going on since the past two days and with the help of all agencies, we have recovered six bodies so far," said Narayana M, Superintendent of Police (Karwar).
Among the four dead were members of the same family, who ran an eatery along the national highway.
They have been identified as 47-year-old Lakshman Naik, his 36-year-old wife Shanti Naik and their children Roshan (11), Avantika (6).
The two other deceased has been identified as drivers.
According to the officials, seven people were feared dead. Out of which, the bodies of six people have been recovered so far. Search operations will continue until all the bodies are recovered.
Following the incident, the state government had said that three gas tankers had pulled up at the eatery for a tea break when mud and rocks plunged down the hill.
The landslip triggered by incessant rains also swept away two of the three tankers into the Gangavali river flowing on the other side of the road.
According to the state government, the National Highways Authority of India, while building National Highway 66 "cut the hill steep instead of a 45-degree slope, resulting in the accident".
Meanwhile, vehicular movement has been banned till July 22 in Seethalayanagiri-Mullayanagiri area of Chikkamagaluru taluk due to the collapse of hills and severe damage to the road surface owing to heavy rains.
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MVA finalises seat-sharing for 260 seats for Maharashtra Assembly elections: Reports
Mumbai: Reports have suggested that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has reached a consensus on 260 of the 288 seats for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, with the Congress securing 110 to 115 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) 83 to 86 seats, and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) 72 to 75 seats. Disagreements over the remaining constituencies are expected to be resolved soon, according to sources.
The seat-sharing agreement follows the Congress's strong performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
Discussions are ongoing to allocate the remaining 20 to 25 seats, which are highly contested among the alliance partners. A senior MVA leader involved in the negotiations said that a formula is being developed that takes into account each party’s chances of success in the election.
Several key figures attended the seat-sharing meeting, including Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Sanjay Raut and MP Anil Desai, and NCP state president Jayant Patil.
The alliance is also considering giving two to three seats each to the Samajwadi Party, Left parties, and the Peasants and Workers Party. Additionally, Uddhav Thackeray is pushing for more seats in Mumbai and the Konkan region, a traditional stronghold for Shiv Sena. The Congress is expected to contest more seats in Vidarbha, while the NCP will focus on western Maharashtra.
Each party aims to win enough seats to strengthen its claim to the Chief Minister’s post.
