Evacuate hill slopes

In the wake of heavy rainfall for the past few days, local administration with the help of law enforcers will start today evacuating people from Chittagong city's most risky hill slopes to avert possible loss of lives from landslides.
Chittagong City Corporation and district administration on Saturday night urged people living in Batali Hill, Bishwa Colony, Lalkhan Bazar and Motijharna under Khulshi Police Station for shifting to safer places within today.
“Around 200 to 250 families are living in those risky areas,” said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Fayez Ahmed.
He told The Daily Star that if the people did not move by this time, “local administration with the help of law enforcers will evacuate them”.
He said earlier they had made the announcement through loudspeaker in those areas.
A total of 127 people were killed in a land slide on June 11, 2007 and 17 on July 1, 2011.
There are several other areas in the city where people live beside hills, but those are less risky, according to officials.
Incessant rainfall from Friday evening until Saturday night made the hill soil soft. It can cause several deaths due to landslide, the DC said.
Department of Environment (DoE) Director Jafor Alam said the Divisional Hill Management Committee took a decision at a meeting held on May 9, 2012, to shift the people “if incessant and heavy downpour takes place”.
Meanwhile, a septuagenarian, Nurul Islam, died yesterday morning due to a landslide at Firoz Shah Colony in the city, police said.