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Landslides claim 60 lives in 10 years

By Staff Reporter - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, Aug 5 � With the rainy season on, the spectre of killer landslides looms large over the city which has a number of hills within its municipal limits. In the last decade over 60 people have lost their lives in landslides that have also caused substantial loss of property including houses.

A number of factors such as growing encroachment, earth-cutting, deforestation, and unscientific constructions on hills have aggravated the situation, raising the risk of landslides manifold.

S Thiek, Additional Commissioner, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), however, believes that it is still possible to restore the hills to livable conditions and minimize the landslide risk considerably.

�The need is to have hill-friendly houses and other structures and minimising hill-cutting while making room for any structure on the hills. Unfortunately this is not being adhered to in the city,� he said.

According to Thiek, the city would do well to follow the model of Shillong when it comes to making habitations sustainable on the hills. �Excavators must not be used in hills having a slope of 15 degree and above, as it destroys the soil structure and increases the risk of landslides. Our builders need to develop foresightedness and the engineers should be imparted training on how to build structures on hills through innovative techniques. If we reduce unwarranted interventions on the hills and follow the correct engineering methods, our hills can sustain the populations occupying those at the moment. However, no more encroachment should be allowed even if it is not possible to evict the existing encroachers,� he said.

Traditional wisdom, too, comes in handy while ensuring safe living conditions on the hills. �Assam-types structures alone are suitable for the city hills�we can also learn from the housing practices followed in Shillong since ages,� Thiyek said.

Underscoring the need for the State Government to take a policy decision concerning preservation of hills and allowing only the correct engineering interventions in consonance with traditional wisdom, Thiek said that the hills must not be allowed to part with their greenery as well as the soil.

�Landslides on the city hills are mostly man-made, stemming from disturbance to the hill geology and ecology. That is why the Government needs to adopt a policy for their protection. The hills are needed not just for the sake of those inhabiting those but for the entire city of Guwahati. If you lose the hills you will also lose Guwahati,� he cautioned.

Thiek said that the GMC had suggested several recommendations to the State Government for ensuring that the geology and ecology of the city hills remained least interfered with even while absorbing the present population.

�The Soil Conservation Department has also been implementing a few schemes for protection of hills,� he said, adding that a coordinated approach was necessary for the purpose.