GSI studies areas prone to landslide in state

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31

In view of frequent landslides in Himalayan states, including Uttarakhand, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has come up with a landslide document for northwestern Himalayas.

The GSI has been working on highly unstablised zones in the region for quite some time. Landslides are a common hazard in Himalayan states which are generally triggered by heavy rainfall almost every year, particularly during the rainy season. In the landslide document, the GSI, apart from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, has studied several highly unstable zones that are located in Uttarakhand.

Available landslide susceptibility and inventory maps along important pilgrimage routes, road-corridors, river basins and site-specific large scale landslide maps that are part of the document reveal that parts of many mountainous tracts and locations are highly vulnerable and susceptible to landslides.

Landslide susceptibility maps on the document cover important pilgrimage road corridors of Uttarakhand such as Yamunotri yatra route, Gangotri yatra route, Kedarnath-Badrinath route, Kailash-Mansarovar route and Harkidun road.

Unstable zones studied by the GSI in Uttarakhand and included in the document prominently includes Ukhimath tehsil, Rudraprayag-Kedarnath road, Haridwar-Badrinath road, Rudraprayag-Kedarnath road, Haridwar-Badrinath road, Karnaprayag-Gwaldam road, Joshimath-Marlari road in the Garhwal division.

Further, Jalikhan-Jiakhan road, Bareilly-Almora road, Barielly-Kathgodam road, Almora-Pithoragarh road among others in the Kumaon division were taken up for study.

Dr OP Sati from HNB Garhwal University asserts that the study of landslides zones in the Himalayan region is very important in order to identity zones highly vulnerable and susceptible to landslides. He said the study would also help in proper treatment of these landslide zones and the remedial action.