Need for a landslide warning system

Large parts of the country are prone to landslides which claim lives, destroy property, and disrupt road and train communications. They also change the topography of the places where they occur and often lay them waste for many years to come. A recent landslide at a railway construction site in Manipur has claimed the lives of at least 34 people, mostly personnel of the Territorial Army (TA). Many others are feared trapped under the mud and search-and-rescue operations involving many agencies are going on. The debris has blocked a river and that has led to flooding and inundation of many areas. There have been other landslides also which have caused loss of life and property in the north-eastern states and some southern states. Many places are vulnerable to landslides because of their terrain and climate.

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Landslides are regular occurrences in hilly areas during the rainy season. About 12 per cent of the country’s land mass, particularly in the Himalayas and the Western Ghats, is considered vulnerable. Deforestation, mining and construction are the main contributing factors, though the immediate causes may be different. These activities have been increasing in recent years, putting more and more pressure on the soil, which gives way. Many places where landslides have taken place are areas where forests were encroached and cleared for human habitation. The growing vagaries of nature in the form of intensified rainfall, cloudbursts and speedy winds trigger the events. Climate change has made the situation worse everywhere. Since many landslides occur in inaccessible areas when the weather is bad, rescue and relief operations often become difficult. Hundreds of lives are lost every year.

The country has good experience in disaster response operations, and there is a specialised force for that. But there is no effective early warning system for landslides. Such a system will make it possible to take preventive measures, plan rescue and relief, and facilitate evacuations and damage control. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is testing a Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) in two pilot projects in Darjeeling and the Nilgiris. The government told parliament last year that it hopes to make the system operational in phases from 2025, after its successful evaluation in 10 states including the Himalayan states and some South Indian states including Karnataka. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also set up a group to develop a monitoring and warning system for rock and snow avalanche events. Hopefully these initiatives will help put in place a good early warning system.