Minor Girl Dies, Father Injured In Landslide In Odisha’s Jajpur

Jajpur: A minor girl died while her father was seriously injured in landslide from a canal in Odisha’s Jajpur district on Friday.

According to sources, Iswar Munda and his 8-year-old daughter Gita Munda of Nadiabhanga Baunsanali village under Kalinganagar police station in the district had gone to the canal near their village to clean themselves in the morning.

While both of them were in the canal water, a large part of the earthen bank, which was being renovated, caved in. As a result, Iswar and Gita were buried under soil due to sudden landslide.

The villagers started to dig up the huge mound of soil and informed the Fire Brigade as they found it tough to rescue the father and daughter. The Fire services personnel rushed to the spot and after a prolonged effort managed to bring the duo from under a heavy load of soil.

Iswar and Gita were rushed to the community health centre (CHC) at Sukinda. But the doctors in the hospital declared Gita brought dead. Later, Iswar was shifted to the district headquarters hospital at Jajpur as his condition deteriorated. His condition was stated to be critical as he was suffocated under the soil for a long time.

The villagers said the canal renovation work was not being done properly by the contractor. The landslide took place due to poor work by the contractor, they alleged.