Pune: The marathon rescue and relief operation launched at Malin village in Pune's Ambegaon flattened in the July 30 landslide catastrophe, was declared officially over on the eighth day on Wednesday with the final death toll pegged at 151 with eight survivors.
The NDRF jawans, who braved inclement weather at the site all these days, have started moving out of the area after clearing the huge mound of mud debris that buried over 40 houses situated at the foot of the rain ravaged hill.
"The rescue and relief operation is successfully over," district collector Saurav Rao who supervised the massive effort involving the NDRF teams and various state government and other voluntary agencies, said in the evening. According to Rao, the rescuers recovered 146 intact and 5 bodies in segmented parts which put the toll at 151.
The dead include 59 men, 71 women, and 21 children.
"All decisions relating to the identity and last rites of the dead were taken in consultation with the villagers and medical teams associated with the operation," he added.
Over 300 NDRF personnel who arrived at the disaster-struck village in Ambegaon taluka within hours after the huge mountain of mud and stone debris cascaded down, burying Malin and the resident victims, braved intermittent rains and adverse weather conditions to complete the rescue mission of one of the worst natural disasters in Maharashtra.
A sophisticated machinery and heavy equipment was pressed into service round-the-clock with power generators facilitating the night operation.
A continuous spraying of disinfectants at the site and face masks for the rescue team ensured prevention of major health hazards following extrication of highly decomposed bodies and over 50 carcasses of animals, a district official noted.
Many villagers in the affected area have been sheltered by the district administration at "Ashram Shalas" in an adjacent village.
The authorities have also asked remaining residents in the village to shift to safer places following an advisory of Geological Survey of India (GSI) officials who warned of the likelihood of more slides in view of continuous rainfall in the region.
The state government promising a complete rehabilitation of the affected population, has announced an assistance of Rs 5 lakh to relatives or families of the victims.
The Pune district control room had earlier put the death toll at 153.
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