From Bhupen Goswami
GUWAHATI : A labourer was killed and 18 others are still missing near the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kurung Kume district. The labourers were working on road construction in Damin. It is feared that all the labourers have died due to drowning in the Kumi river. The body of one of them was found in the Kumi river. Since then, it has been feared that all the labourers have died due to drowning in the river. It is learnt that all of them were brought to Arunachal for road construction by the Border Roads Organisation. Due to continuous rains, the water level of the rivers has also increased and the campaign is also getting difficult.
All the people were engaged in the construction of the road near the border of China. He wanted to go to his home in Assam on the festival of Eid. So he had sought leave from the contractor to go home, but he has not been given leave. After this, all of them left for Assam on foot. It happened to the workers on the same road.It is being told that earlier Kurung had disappeared in the forests of Kume district. It is suspected that all the labourers fell victim to the accident while crossing the Kumi river. Rescue operation is underway. Another team has been sent for the search operation, but due to the incessant rains, the water level of the rivers has increased. In such a situation, there is a problem in the rescue operation. At present, the Deputy Commissioner has recovered only one body from the spot.
According to locals, all the workers have died. It is not yet clear when and how the labourers drowned in the Kumi river. All these workers had been missing for the past week. In fact, these labourers wanted to go to their homes in Assam on the occasion of Eid. For this, he asked for leave from the contractor. It is being told that a contractor named Bengia Bado refused to give leave to these labourers. After which the workers left for their home on foot. These labourers are feared to have drowned in the Kumi river. The rescue operation is going on. Let me tell you that it is raining heavily in the Northeast. Rivers have been in spate for the past few days in the states of Assam, Mizoram etc., including Arunachal Pradesh. There is flood in many districts. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is building a vast network of infrastructure projects in the North Eastern States. Under this, these labourers were brought to damin circle, a remote area near the India-China border, to complete the road works.
