Question

Identify the Landslide-prone regions of India and suggest some measures to mitigate the disasters caused by these.

Answer 1

Highly unstable, relatively young mountainous areas in the Himalayas and Andaman and Nicobar, high rainfall regions with steep slopes in the Western Ghats and Nilgiris, the north-eastern regions, along with areas that experience frequent ground-shaking due to earthquakes, etc. and areas of intense human activities, particularly those related to the construction of roads, dams, etc. are highly prone to landslides.

Areas that have almost similar conditions to those included in the very high vulnerability zone are also included in this category. The only difference between these two is the combination, intensity, and frequency of the controlling factors. All the Himalayan states and the states from the north-eastern regions except the plains of Assam are included in the high vulnerability zones.

Subsidence is most common in states like Jharkhand. Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Kerala.

Measures for Mitigation

• Promoting large-scale afforestation programs.
• Construction of bunds to reduce the flow of water.
• Terrace farming should be encouraged in the north-eastern hill states.
• Restriction on the construction and other developmental activities such as roads and dams, limiting agriculture to valleys and areas with moderate slopes, and control on the development of large settlements in the high vulnerability zones, should be enforced.