Landslides triggered by heavy rain disrupted traffic on National Highway-2 and the Mokokchung-Chare road before clearance restored movement.
MOKOKCHUNG — Heavy overnight and early morning rain on Friday triggered multiple landslides along National Highway-2 and the intermediate road connecting Mokokchung and Chare (Tuensang), temporarily disrupting traffic.
Officials said that prompt intervention by PWD (National Highway) and maintenance firms restored normal traffic movement within an hour.
A major landslide near Liroyim on NH-2 caused a seven-metre section of the highway to heave upward after debris from the adjoining hillside pushed against the roadway.
The incident was reported around 6 am at Chainage No. 198+083 near Liroyim, according to the maintenance firm's in-charge.
The official said that this was the second major landslide to hit the same stretch.
The person in charge said that geologists had previously inspected the area following a similar landslide last year.
District officials, led by the SDO of Changtongya, visited the site early Friday morning and confirmed the incident as a natural disaster.
Following debris clearance, the affected stretch was reopened to one-way traffic within an hour.
In a separate incident, another landslide at Chainage No. 188+050 on the Akhoya-Unger section of NH-2 was also cleared, restoring traffic within an hour.
Meanwhile, on the Mokokchung-Chare intermediate road, two major mudslides stranded more than 30 vehicles overnight, including passenger buses, trucks carrying essential commodities and pickup vans transporting live poultry.
Imti, SDO of PWD (NH), Tuensang Division, said that the mudslides occurred at the 12-km point under Mokokchung jurisdiction, about 900 metres from Dikhu Bridge, and at the 19-km point in the Chare area of Tuensang district.
He informed that clearance operations were launched immediately at both locations, and normal traffic movement was fully restored by 8 am.