GUWAHATI: It’s a double whammy for Guwahati residents as on one hand, the flash floods continue to torment the public and on the other hand, residents living near the hill areas undergo a perennial fear of landslides during the rainy season.
Most of Guwahati has hills surrounding it and there are hills within the city, too. People have constructed houses in these hills and lands bordering the hills. Heavy downpour not only loosens the soil and brings silt down to the drains but also causes landslides which have become common during rainy season. These landslides can mostly be contributed to human activities (illegal hill cutting) and constructing abodes in areas which are not suitable for living.
As of now, the damage has not been very huge but landslides are becoming regular every monsoon. There is loss of both human lives and property due to these landslides. From 2014, a total of 13 persons have lost lives due to landslides.
The most recent landslide claimed three lives in Jorabat. Two women and a child lost their lives in the incident. During June 2018, there was a massive landslide in the Nilachal Hills near Kamakhya temple area which destroyed residential properties. Nizarapar and Birubari also witnessed landslides in June.
In 2013, the Kamrup Metro Administration had marked 366 areas which are prone to landslides. Proper signage has been put in many areas warning the residents about landslides and precautions to be taken during such incidents. The administration has been continuously trying to make the residents aware of the dangers of living in areas which are prone to landslides.
Some of landslide prone areas in the city include Sarania Hills, Maligaon, Narakasur, Fatasil Ambari, Kharguli, Sunsali, Chandrapur, Narengi and Jorabat.
With the monsoon season in full swing there are chances of more landslides being reported.
Although the government has been trying to help the families of the deceased with an ex-gratia payment of Rs, 4,00,000, it should rather create awareness among the people to stop putting pressure on the local environment and avoid all kinds of illegal and un-scientific construction.