309 landslides on 247-km stretch between Rishikesh and Joshimath last year: Study

Joshimath town, which according to ISRO sank by 5.4 cm in just 12 days, is looked at as one of the worst ecological disasters in India’s history. As an analysis of the situation highlighted faulty decisions, warnings ignored and rampant development work on the fragile ecology, a new study by Indian and foreign scientists claimed that around 309 landslides were identified on the 247-km road between Rishikesh and Joshimath last year, The Times of India reported.

The study that appeared in a peer reviewed journal, 'Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences', shows an average of 1.25 landslides per km at the 247-km stretch between Joshimath and Rishikesh.

Also Read — Joshimath subsidence: Here are other places in Uttarakhand at risk of sinking

The report that was produced by the scientists at European Geosciences Union on January 10 , further stated that apart from natural causes like rain, widening of roads and other construction activities might be the reason behind such landslides.

Though the landslides were small in its magnitude, it disrupted traffic, and led to infrastructural damage in Uttarakhand, the report added. The data was collected from October last year.

Scientists Jurgen Mey, Ravi Kumar Guntu, Alexander Plakias, Igo Silva de Almeida and Wolfgang Schwanghart conducted the research using Google Earth that shows "21.4 per cent of the recorded landslides with road blockages existed before and around 17.8 per cent of the landslides were most likely reactivated by excessive rainfall."

It points out the rapidly increasing road construction in the Himalayas. Around 11,000-Km of roads were built in the last five years on this fragile landscape. The National Crimes Records Bureau data of the number of people losing their lives to landslides was also cited by the scientists that said close to 160 people lost their lives to such disasters in the last four years.

It also cautioned about an increase in such disasters in future. It suggests that if the traffic is reduced, it is possible to disrupt the cycle of disaster and the 125-km railway between Rishikesh and Karnaprayag might help with this.