23 taluks in Karnataka face landslide risk: Report

As many as 23 taluks in Karnataka face risk of landslides while five others need attention due to minor landslides witnessed over the years, a report has warned.

The report, 'Landslide Vulnerability of Karnataka', was prepared by G S Srinivasa Reddy, former director of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), and is based on data from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Geographical Survey of India (GSI)

The study began in the wake of the 2018 flood havoc in Kodagu, where about 900 houses collapsed or were damaged, displacing thousands of people, while 33,548 farmers suffered crop loss.

As per the report, which analysed information from Isro and GSI, 25,024.9 sq km of land in 23 taluks of Malnad and coastal districts is vulnerable to disaster.

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The report called for controlling human activity in the Western Ghats, which is vulnerable to landslides due to incidents like cloud bursts.

Accordingly, eight taluks in Uttara Kannada, five in Dakshina Kannada, three in Kodagu, four in Chikkamagaluru, one each in Hassan, Udupi and Shivamogga need urgent mitigation measures.

The report was submitted to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa along with another report prepared by a committee headed by Karnataka Biodiversity Board chairman Ananth Hegde Ashisar.

Reddy, who was part of the committee, said, "We need village-level mitigation measures. We have suggested an early warning system based on threshholds, which includes geographical and geological factors."

He said the government has to adopt a multi-pronged approach, starting with detailed studies and surveys on the ground. "Infrastructure, from buildings to roads, in these taluks have to be assessed in detail. This helps to prevent any development works that will lead to disasters," he said.

Keshava H Korse, a conservation biologist based in Shivamogga, who was part of the committee, said a comprehensive regulatory regime to control land use was required. "The climate aspect is beyond the control of the government but man-made changes in such areas have to be regulated at the earliest," he said.