Road to Sajek reopens after landslide
Hillside collapse amid overnight rains leaves thousands of tourists stranded until afternoon
Thursday, 6 October 2022
RANGAMATI, Oct 5 (Agencies): Communications on the Sajek-Khagrachhari road resumed after six and a half hours of suspension on Wednesday afternoon after army personnel and the local administration cleared the landslide debris.
Movement of vehicles to and from Sajek in Rangamati's Baghaichhari has returned to normal.
Rumana Akter, Baghaichhari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), said the local administration with the help of army completed removing the landslide debris from the road around 2:30 pm. The incident did not cause any considerable damage, Rumana said.
Earlier, around 4,000 tourists got stranded as vehicular movement on the Sajek-Khagrachhari road remained suspended since Wednesday morning due to landslide caused by heavy showers in Sajek of Baghaichhari.
Army personnel worked to clear the road as scores of tourists visiting the valley during the Durga Puja holiday were left stranded on Wednesday.
Due to heavy rains on Tuesday night, a large chunk of a hillside collapsed on the road in the Sukna Nanda Rampara area leading to Sajek, according to the Baghaichhari UNO.
Rumana Akter said a huge portion of a hill collapsed at Nandaram in the morning, snapping the road communication.
However, the authorities could not ascertain when the landslide occurred as there are no settlements in the area. It was only when vehicles began using the road in the morning that the matter came to their attention, according to UNO Rumana.
"Thousands of tourists thronged the Sajek valley during the puja holidays," said Suparna Deb Burman, president of the Sajek Cottage Owners Association.
"We came to know about the landslide in the morning. Due to the road closure, vehicles returning from Sajek are stopping at Machalong while those heading to the valley are waiting at Baghaihat."
"We have around 200 vehicles in Sajek, which arrived on Tuesday. Many were supposed to leave on Wednesday morning. But now, everyone is stuck."
There are 112 cottages in Sajek, which can accommodate almost 4,000 tourists at a time.
However, no causalities were reported till filling of this report around 3 pm.
Deputy Commissioner of Rangamati Mizanur Rahman said, "Local people, local administration and army have been working to restore road communication and it will take 4-5 hours more."