Wake-up call
- Landslide in Manipur is one of the severest natural disasters in the State.
Compound damages
- Damage is compounded by landslide debris blocking Ijei river.
- Can well up water which could inundate low-lying areas if the “dam”-like structure is breached.
- Weather has hampered pace of rescue efforts.
- Matter of serious concern as
- Relatively high number of casualties accompanying these landslides
- Disasters were “anthropogenically” induced
- Causes of landslides in Manipur
- Modification of slopes for construction
- Widening of road
- Quarrying for construction materials,
- Fragile lithography,
- Complex geological structures and
- Heavy rainfall
Future course of action
- State government must look at whether sufficient soil and stability tests were done before choosing the site for railway construction work in the Tupul area.
- Researchers have corroborated that the areas in western Manipur fall under very high, high or moderate hazard zones.
- An early warning system for landslides is still being developed and refined by GSI and this could help reduce the scale of such disasters, once deployed across vulnerable States.
Conclusion
- States in the Northeast are keen on accelerating connectivity projects but disasters such as landslide point to dangers of not taking ecological challenges related to deforestation seriously enough.