Irshalwadi landslide: Legislator questions disaster management efforts after previous incidents

Two similar landslides in 2014 and 2022 had claimed over 200 lives.

Following the devastating July 19, 2023 landslide on the mountain slopes of Irshalwadi, independent legislator Satyajeet Tambe on Friday sought to know what steps had been taken in the wake of similar incidents at Malin and Taliye earlier.

On July 30, 2014, a landslide in the Malin village in the Ambegaon tehsil of the Pune district of Maharashtra had claimed 151 lives.

Seven years later, on July 22, 2021, a massive hillock came crashing down on the Taliye village in the Mahad tehsil of the Raigad district, killing 85 persons.

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"If the State Government thinks that there should be no additions to the list of Irshalgarh, Taliye, and Malin, immediate steps and measures should be taken,” said Tambe.

“There were committees set up—first by the central government after the Malin tragedy, and then by the state government after the Taliye tragedy. What did these committees recommend, if at all they did? If they gave recommendations, were they implemented?,” he asked.

“Lack of prior human action could also be one of the root causes of natural disasters later on. Was better planning required in building the infrastructure around the mountains and rivers? Errors are possible even from a geographical and environmental perspective. In no way does this mean that one should take an anti-development stance. It only means that one should not disrupt the natural ecological balance but blend with nature and find a way alongside it. These things need to be looked at seriously,” added Tambe.