People living in landslide-prone areas in Maharashtra should be moved to safer locations, said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday amid an ongoing rescue operation to look for survivors at Irshalwadi in Raigad district.

Talking to reporters after meeting the residents of Irsahlwadi, where at least 25 people have died in a landslide, the former chief minister said he had planned a scheme to rehabilitate villages residing in landslide-prone areas to safer places.

“Not just Irsahlwadi. All such localities should be rehabilitated in nearby villages or areas,” he said.

A massive landslide hit Irshalwadi, a tribal village located on a hill slope in the coastal district, around 80km from Mumbai, on Wednesday night. At least 17 of 48 houses in the village were fully or partially buried under the landslide debris.

“All collectors and tehsildar should be asked (to look into it). Whoever is in power, the scheme should not be stopped,” Thackeray said.

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