Heavy rain triggers landslides that block Khagrachhari road

It will take some time before the road is traversable again, according to engineers from the Roads Department

Heavy rain has triggered landslides that have cut off Khagrachhari from Dhaka and Chattogram. Many vehicles are stuck on either side of the road due to the incident. However, no casualties have been reported.

The landslides occurred in the Shapmara area on the Khagrachhari-Alutila Road at 7:30am and 8:45am on Saturday morning, according to Mohammad Zaker Hossain, deputy director of the Khagrachhari Fire Service.

Zaker said that the landslide caused part of the hill to collapse onto the road. As attempts were being made to clean the area, another landslide caused a large section of the hill to collapse onto the road.

The landslide has cut off the Khagrachhari district’s road connections to the rest of the country.

“Personnel from our Khagrachhari and Matiranga units have been working since the morning to remove the soil,” Zaker said. “But, as we have limited manpower, it will take time to remove it.”

The Roads and Highways Department joined the operation around 10am.

Maksudur Rahman, the executive engineer of the Khagrachhari Roads Department, said: “In addition to the massive amount of soil on the road, there are power poles as well as trees from the mountain. We are working alongside the Fire Service to remove them.”

“All in all, it will take quite some time before we can make the road suitable for traffic,” he said.