Construction workers are often killed in disaster incidence due to high vulnerability of their habitations. A comprehensive strategy in line with SFDRR priorities is however required to reduce disaster induced fatalities.
October heat & Uttarakhand disaster
Abnormal rainfall in the post-monsoon season of 2021 took toll of 82 human lives of which 22% were trekkers. This warrants a robust policy for high altitude trekking wherein safety of persons venturing to high altitude areas is ensured.
Kathgodam – Nainital Ropeway
A wire ropeway for the carriage of goods between Kathgodam and Nainital was conceived way back in 1887. Present volume of passenger and goods movement between the two stations warrants exploring possibilities of materialising this dream.
Slope monitoring around Nainital
Successful monitoring of the hill slope around the Naini lake by British Raj authorities highlights the importance of vision, resolve and will power over technology and resources.
Garbyang: Sinking village of Higher Himalaya
Once upon a time, prior to Sino-Indian conflict of 1962, Garbyang was a thriving village located on Indo-Tibetan trade route. The village is presently facing serious land degradation, and interventions are required for retarding, and finally checking the pace of ground subsidence so as to secure the age-old legacy. If not addressed timely continuing ground […]
Mitigation Measures to Protect the Lake City
Not many would believe, but the expert committee constituted 04 days after Sher-ka-Danda landslide carried out detailed field investigations, established the causes of slope instability, and recommended not only elaborate mitigation measures but also suitable implementation mechanism in just 19 days, and these were actually implemented on ground in less than 02 years. The Lake […]
Sher-ka-Danda landslide of 1880
More than the devastation caused in Nainital town, Sher-ka-Danda landslide of September 18, 1880 needs to be remembered not only by Disaster Managers but also by the masses for prompt and detailed post-disaster investigations, and enactment of not only mitigation but also monitoring measures undertaken during the British Raj. 18 सितम्बर 1880 को नैनीताल में […]
Frequent earthquakes & lessons for EEW system
In the morning hours of Saturday September 11, 2021 around 0558 hrs IST, the area around Pipalkoti and Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand experienced violent ground shaking. Traumatised by the tremor and suspecting damage, people came out of their houses and remained outdoors for quite some time, apprehending a bigger one to follow. As is expected, […]
A HEP project that protected the Balia ravine
Conceived in 1918 Balia Nala hydroelectric power (HEP) project lighted up Nainital Municipality and provided water to its residents from 1922 to 1974, besides protecting the Balia ravine from erosion and earning revenue for the Municipality. 119 years after 1803 Garhwal Earthquake it was on September 1, 1922 that the lake city Nainital got regular electricity supply. […]
1803 Garhwal Earthquake: Implications for western UP and NCR
The seismic tremors Severe ground shaking was felt over northern and eastern India from Punjab to Calcutta in the early hours of September 1, 1803. But for some sketchy written accounts of the damage incurred at certain places and that too with reference to some prominent structures, there exist no means of assessing the destruction […]