MANGALURU: The Karnataka government’s decision to invite a team of experts from IIT-Bombay to inspect landslide spots at Shirur near Ankola in Uttara Kannada and Kettikal near Mangaluru appears to be an eyewash.
Several reports submitted to the government by premier institutes in the past on measures to be taken to prevent landslides in vulnerable areas of the state are gathering dust. “Government agencies contact us whenever disasters such as landslides occur and we visit such spots and give designs. But in most cases, the designs submitted by us are not implemented. They wake up only during the next monsoon when there is another major landslide,” said Prof Sreevalsa Kolathayar of NITK, Suratkal.
He said the whole exercise of getting a report from experts appears to be a result of pressure that officials face from politicians and the public when such disasters strike.The government’s response is no different even to an exhaustive report submitted by a committee appointed by the chief minister following sporadic incidents of landslides in Kodagu and other parts of the state in 2019-20.
‘No action on reports submitted by experts’
Environmentalist Ananth Hegde Ashisira, who headed the committee as chairperson of Karnataka Biodiversity Board, said not even a single meeting was held to discuss the Comprehensive Landslide Prevention and Mitigation Plan (CLPMP) submitted by the committee. The committee had recommended mapping of landslide hazards and high-risk zones based on geology and geography of the terrain, which is yet to be done though the landslide susceptibility mapping database was made available to all states by GIS through its Bhukosh web portal.
The committee headed by Ashisira had recommended a sustainable road development policy for the Western Ghats, ban on mining in hilly regions, restoration of damaged hillocks, and restrictions on the use of wood-cutting and land-digging equipment, among other emergency measures. He had also urged the chief secretary to convene a meeting of the committee members and officials to formulate a specific action plan to prevent landslides.
Echoing similar views, environmentalist Dinesh Holla said, “There has been no action on the reports submitted by experts. At least now, the government should wake up in view of the Wayanad and Shirur disasters.
“Prof Kolathayar said side-slope protection should be part of the tender document in every road widening project. “Otherwise, contractors simply make vertical excavations and leave them exposed, leading to landslides during monsoon. Different techniques and options are available for land excavations and to protect slopes,” he said.
Prof Kolathayar, however, said in some instances, preventive measures and slope-protection designs have been implemented. Speaker UT Khader stressed the need for a Special Scheduled Rate (SRR) on the lines of North-Eastern states for construction of roads in ghat areas. There should be a provision for protection/retaining walls along the roads in such areas.