April 14, 2026 05:30 pm (IST)
Follow us:
Rajnath visits Pune landslide site, toll at 31
Pune, July 31 (IBNS): Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday visited the Malin Village in Ambegaon Taluka of Pune district in Maharashtra, which was hit by a massive landslide on Wednesday claiming at least 31 lives.
While, the death toll touched 31 on Thursday, 158 persons are still feared trapped under the debris. Eight persons have been safely rescued.
The Home Minister expressed deep condolences to the families of the victims.
He was briefed at the spot by the District Magistrate, the Superintendent of Police and the Commandant, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) regarding the ongoing rescue efforts.
About 31 dead bodies have been recovered and the state government machinery is actively taking up rescue and relief efforts.
The Home Minister mentioned that the Prime Minister has deputed him to take this visit and to convey the Prime Minister’s deepest sympathy to the families of the victims.
He announced that the PM is releasing Rs. 2 lakhs each to the next of kin of each deceased person from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund in addition to the assistance under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
The village, where the landslide swept away at least 40 houses on the hillside, is located about 120 km from Pune.
Officials said the landslide occurred at around 10:45 AM yesterday.
Heavy rains have lashed the area.
At least seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force reached the incident spot on Wednesday soon after the disaster struck. Later two more teams of NDRF which were prepositioned at Andheri Sport Complex, Mumbai for pre-monsoon deployment were mobilised.
The total strength of nine teams is 378 trained personnel who are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and communication sets.
Alok Awasthy, Commandant, and Varghese P G, second-in-command, are supervising the operations.
Two Un-Armed-Vehicles (UAVs) with its pilot were also directed to rush to spot to help in the on-going rescue work. Six teams of NDRF at Gandhinagar are also kept as stand by for further deployment.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have condoled the loss of lives in the landslide which was triggered by heavy rains in the district.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also mourned the loss of lives in the tragedy
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
WhatsApp groups, QR codes, digital networks: Inside the planning of Noida labour protests
Tue, Apr 14 2026
‘TMC goons have free rein, no accountability in Bengal’: Rahul Gandhi slams Mamata Banerjee
Tue, Apr 14 2026
UP govt hikes minimum wages after violent protests in Noida
Tue, Apr 14 2026
Noida erupts in fresh labour protests; Workers clash with police, resort to stone pelting over wage demands
Tue, Apr 14 2026
‘Level playing field shaken’: Abhishek Banerjee slams ED arrest of I-PAC co-founder ahead of Bengal polls
Tue, Apr 14 2026
Coal scam crackdown: ED arrests I-PAC co-founder Vinesh Chandel ahead of Bengal polls
Mon, Apr 13 2026
India–UK Collaborative R&D Programme for industrial sustainability: TDB signs pact with Casey Aviation for BE-JTO project
Mon, Apr 13 2026