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KOHIMA — In separate incidents in Kohima and Sendenyu village of Tseminyu district, two persons were drowned in the past four days.
While the body of the person who drowned in Nsongi Lake, Sendenyu, was found on Monday, the search for the person who drowned in Dzuvuru stream, Kohima, on June 27 is still ongoing.
Search enters day three
Rendemo Odyuo, a 25-year-old resident of Kohima, is feared dead after the stream washed him away. A joint search operation involving disaster management teams, administrations, and volunteers from multiple districts entered its third day on Monday.
L Jonjibemo Odyuo, assistant manager of Relief, Recovery, and Mitigation and nodal officer for District Disaster Management, Wokha, told Eastern Mirror that by Sunday, the drainage lines in Kohima had been covered. However, some areas remain inaccessible, and although drones were deployed, they were unable to cover the entire area due to poor weather conditions.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were dispatched on Monday to cover the inaccessible areas, approximately 2 km from the incident site.
Simultaneously, they also conducted search operations in Zunheboto (Lazami area under Pughoboto sub-division) and Wokha districts. However, due to heavy downpours and high water levels, their efforts were limited.
They plan to continue with the search on Tuesday, with a focus in Zunheboto district and in Wokha up to the Doyang Dam areas.
Odyuo added that the water current is very high due to the continuous rainfall, and there is little they can do about it. He added that volunteers are stationed at several accessible riverbanks for vigilance.
The official cautioned that while people go near the riverbanks for domestic and recreational activities, they are unaware that during heavy rainfall, the water discharge increases significantly. He advised people to avoid going near riverbanks during the rainy season.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Wokha, K Furhesie Nyuwi, has appealed to villages located upstream of the Doyang Dam to form search teams within their villages to assist in locating the body.
He further informed this newspaper that nearly all the villages in the district connected to the Doyang River are currently involved in the search operation.
Man dies while retrieving boat
In another incident, a 27-year-old man reportedly serving in the Indian Army drowned in Nsonji Lake on June 30 while on holiday.
Providing details on the incident, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Tseminyu Longasen Lotha informed this newspaper that news of the drowning was received around 5 pm on June 30.
Teams from the SDRF and NDRF in Kohima were dispatched the same day. However, due to weather conditions, the body could not be recovered the same day.
The search, supported by the district administration and police, resumed at around 6 am on Monday, and the body was recovered at 4:40 pm.
Chairperson of the Sendenyu Community Biodiversity and Wildlife Conservation Board, Gwasinlo Thong, said the unfortunate incident occurred when the victim swam to retrieve a boat that was some distance away in the lake.
He informed that the victim and his friends, who were from a neighbouring village, visited the lake for recreational purposes.
He added that volunteers, youth, students, and villagers from Sendenyu, as well as volunteers from neighbouring villages, initially began the search at the lake but were unable to find the body.
It was informed that the body was taken for post-mortem following the recovery.