Wake-up call: On Manipur landslides

#GS-03 Disaster Management

 

Context

The recent landslides in Manipur have opened the peoples eyes to a deeper underlying issue i.e. the risk of heavy construction on unstable land areas.

For Prelims

  • Ijei river aka Ejei River is a tributary of the Irang river which in turns joins with Barak River.
  • 20 landslides have happened in Manipur between 2014 and 2020.

 

For Mains

 

Concerns:

  • Majority of landslides have happened in the Himalayan States of North India or Hilly states such as Kerala.
  • River was polluted due to construction works going on in the 111km Railway line as part of Act East policy.
  • States in Northeast have to balance the economic benefits coming from better connectivity with the environment damage being done.
  • Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has itself acknowledged that the disasters were β€œanthropogenically” induced.
  • The Ministry has stated that the landslides were β€œa result of modification of slopes for construction, widening of road, quarrying for construction materials, fragile lithography, complex geological structures and heavy rainfall”.

 

Suggestions

  • Identifying susceptible areas through the National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping project.
  • An early warning system for landslides is still being developed and refined by the Geological Survey of India.
  • Sufficient soil and stability tests must be done before choosing the site for railway/ roadways construction work.

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