Landslides promote availability of water and fertile land in the mountains and most habitations are therefore located in close proximity of old landslides. Understanding this relationship is crucial to reducing landslide induced losses.
Hydromet hazards
नदी तल को ऊपर लाता यह मलबा
संता – भाई, आजकल नदी तल से मलबा हटाने को ले कर कुछ ज्यादा हो हल्ला हो रहा हैं? बंता – हाँ, पहले अकेले पर्यावरण प्रेमी ही थे, पर अब न्यायालय भी शामिल हो गया हैं। ऐसे में अखबारों को तो बैठे-बिठाये मसाला मिल ही जाता हैं। संता – पर मसला हैं क्या यह सब? बंता […]
भू-स्खलन के बोझ से दबता हिमालय
संता – भाई, हिमांचल हो या फिर उत्तराखण्ड, इस साल तो बरसात ने हर तरफ आफत मचा रखी हैं। बंता – सो तो हैं, नुकसान कुछ ज्यादा ही हो गया हैं। पर वैसे देखा जाये तो बरसात में पहाड़ी ढाल पर मलबे का खिसकना या भू-स्खलन का होना एक आम बात हैं, और इसमें कुछ भी […]
Rains and Romance – Snapped Relationship
The relationship of rains and romance being erased and rather than analysing the causes of increasing losses due to landslide, flood and flash flood incidences there has been an increasing trend, particularly in the social media to demonise monsoonal rains. But then, can we do without the bounty of monsoonal rains?
Why is Joshimath sinking
Why is Joshimath sinking all of a sudden is an obvious question that comes to the mind of people following incidences in Uttarakhand. Piping of finer material embedded in the old slide material on the valley slope by the breach of some confined aquifer and accompanying distress seems to be the logical explanation. Scientific and technical institutions investigating the causes of distress are sure to add value to this assumption.
Santa-Banta on landslides
संता – भाई रोज सुनते रहते हैं, आखिर यह भू-स्खलन होता क्या हैं ? बंता – Land यानी आम भाषा में कहे तो चट्टान, पत्थर, मिट्टी व मलबा। यह सब जब Slide करे या ढाल पर नीचे आये, तो उसे हम Landslide या भू- स्खलन कहते हैं। संता – वो तो ठीक है, परन्तु यह मलबा नीचे […]
Avalanches around Kedarnath
In September 2022 avalanche activity was observed repeatedly in the mountains to the north of Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. Presence of pilgrims and others in large numbers facilitated pictographic and video records of these, and stories projecting these as posing a major hazard to the township and pilgrims became viral on social media. A […]
Skewed mitigation and increasing flood risk
Despite the situation being continuously exacerbated by climate change and unplanned urbanisation, most vulnerable of the 1.81 billion flood affected persons fail to get prioritised under risk reduction programs due to skewed selection criteria. The study Flood exposure and poverty in 188 countries – an article published recently in Nature Communications by Jun Rentschler, […]
Committee recommends monitoring of slopes around Joshimath
Observation pillars were erected on the identified vulnerable slopes around the Naini lake after devastating Sher-ka-Danda landslide of 1880 and these were monitored using theodolite till 1997 to assess the threat posed to the lake city and undertake mitigation measures, besides sounding a warning when required. Monitoring unstable slopes But then Joshimath in Chamoli district […]
Janmashtami cloudburst around Dehradun
The article posted a week ago, focused on failing risk perception of the people of the region – various factors were put forth therein as inducing these people to knowingly take risk. But then, these people routinely struggle to make the ends meet, and are for that matter left with little options to choose from. […]