Himachal ropes in experts to help tackle sharp spike in landslides

Several academic and research institutions in Himachal Pradesh and outside will prepare a report on landslides and assist the state government in adopting scientific mitigation measures, chief secretary Prabodh Saxena said on Saturday, 16 September.

He said the report, to be submitted in two or three months, would also suggest some prominent and vulnerable locations for further detailed investigation taking geological, geotechnical and geophysical parameters into consideration for proper scientific management of landslides.

In a statement issued in Shimla on Saturday, the chief secretary said considering the state's topographical locations, fragile environment and vulnerable ecology, experts have been roped in to carry out preliminary geological investigations at 10-15 most vulnerable sites in each district and suggest mitigation measures.

Every year, the state experiences the fury of nature in various forms such as cloudbursts, flash floods, landslides, earthquakes, avalanches and droughts and owing to sharp increase in landslides in different districts, the government has involved research institutions for conducting a study, he added.

During the ongoing monsoon season, 112 people have been killed in 166 landslides from 24 June to 15 September, according to the state emergency operations centre. There are 17,120 landslide-prone sites in the state, of which 675 are near critical infrastructure and habitations.

Himachal Pradesh University will conduct the study in Shimla and Kinnaur districts excluding Shimla city, National Institute of Technology Hamirpur in Una, Bilaspur and Hamirpur, Central University in Chamba and Kangra, and Indian Institute of Technology Mandi in Kullu, Mandi and Lahaul and Spiti districts, the statement said.

The Geological Survey of India Chandigarh will conduct the study in Shimla city besides Shimla-Kalka, Mandi-Kullu and Jeori-Sando National Highways, while Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehra Dun and Central Building Research Institute in Roorkee have been allocated Solan and Sirmaur districts respectively, it said.

In view of the widespread damage occurring across the state during the current monsoon season, especially in July and August, the state government had constituted a committee to carry out causative analysis of the landslide and land subsidence incidents causing widespread damage in the capital town.

In its report, the committee had stated that water saturation in soil, construction on drains, and loose strata led to the collapse of buildings.