The residents near the dump had been protesting for months, demanding that the garbage dump be relocated. The authorities, however, claim that they had given enough warning to the slum dwellers to relocate themselves.
As the weather cleared in the morning, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and Union Territory administration started a joint evacuation drive and brought back all stranded tourists to Port Blair from Havelock and Neil islands of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.
Modi also mentioned about 'Balaram', a canine who sniffed out ammunition on the route of the Amarnath Yatra, and 'Bhavana' who searched out an IED in 2002 but died later in an explosion triggered by terrorists.
The police lodged a suo motu case against unknown persons in connection with their involvement in the mishap, a police officer said.
