PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Government of India has approved a Rs 125 crore for landslide mitigation and management in Uttarakhand. This project has been proposed for long-term treatment of the most highly sensitive landslide identified in the State.
According to officials, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) and Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre (ULMMC) had prepared proposals on the directions of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, which were submitted to the Centre. On the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs took prompt action, due to which the project was approved.
An advance amount of Rs 4.5 crore has been released for investigation and preparation for a detailed project report. The CM thanked Modi and Shah on behalf of the State and its people for this development. He said that this is a decisive initiative to achieve a long-term solution to the problem of landslides in the affected areas of the State. Five vulnerable landslide affected areas have been chosen on priority basis. The Mansa Devi hill bypass road in Haridwar is one of these sites as consistent landslide and boulders falling from the Mansa Devi hill pose a risk to public safety.
This route is also used as an alternate path during the Kanwad Yatra. An estimated local population of 50,000 is affected by this disaster scenario. Another site, the Galogi hydro power project route in the Mussoorie area is located on the Dehradun-Mussoorie road. It witnesses regular landslide during the monsoon, affecting traffic and causing serious damage to the road infrastructure. In Chamoli district, the Bahugunanagar area in Karnprayag is affected by land subsidence, causing serious damage to residential buildings and roads. This area is very unstable from the geological perspective, officials said.
Similarly, the Charton Lodge area in Nainital was affected by landslide in September 2023 due to which a number of families were temporarily shifted from the site. Inadequate water drainage facility and consistent rain are considered to be the major reasons for the landslide. In the Dharchula area of Pithoragarh district the Khotila-Ghatdhar landslide area is located on the India-Nepal border area. It is affected by heavy rain and erosion which has created a serious situation of land loss in the border area, officials added.
