Not landslides, but our ignorance and greed are responsible for increasing losses due to this phenomenon that facilitated growth of habitations in the Himalayan region.
Traditional knowledge
The Crack in the Wall and the Landslide’s Yaaddasht
Minor crack in the wall could be a hint of ground instability and ensuing subsidence. Avoid heavy construction over agricultural land and ensure safe disposal of wastewater to keep your area safe.
People-Powered Development in the Himalayas
The Himalayas eagerly await people-powered development as the alienation of the indigenous people with immense traditional knowledge from the development process is the prime cause of the looming ecological and environmental crisis in the region.
Traditional Knowledge: An Untapped Resource for Disaster Resilience
At the face of fast increasing disaster frequency and magnitude and challenges posed by changing climate amalgamation of science and traditional knowledge hold the promise to ensure disaster resilience and promote climate adaptation.
Pothayanar over Pythagoras
Tamil mathematician and poet Pothayanar had in 800 BC developed an easy methodology of calculating hypotenuse of a right-angle triangle without going into the intricacies of finding square root.
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 […]
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. […]
Earthquake safety tradition in the Himalayas
Experimenting with building design and construction precepts the people living in earthquake prone Himalayan region developed a construction algorithm with five distinct principles that ensured safety of structures during earthquake incidences. Ongoing tectonic movements, ensuing subduction of the Indian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate, and their consequent collision resulted in the evolution of the Himalayan […]
Traditional landslide management practices of Himalaya
Ignorance of traditional practices under the lure of economic opportunities, comfort, and convenience have aggravated the menace of landslides in the Himalayan region. The Himalayan region has always been prone to a number of hazards that are generally owed to its unique tectonic and geomorphic setup as also evolutionary history, and meteorological conditions. Stabilisation of […]