BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to collaborate with disaster-prone states and national experts for a comprehensive vulnerability study on landslide and draft a robust mitigation plan.
The urgency for the exercise has stemmed from the alarming increase in landslide incidence in many parts of the state during monsoon or heavy rainfall and storms.
Special relief commissioner (SRC) Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said the recent landslides in Ganjam and Kandhamal under the impact of cyclone Arnab have underlined the importance of vulnerability mapping.
“We are already in talks with experts from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and will soon rope in experts from Geological Survey of India (GSI), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) and other premier institutions having expertise in the field for the vulnerability mapping in view of landslide-related hazards,” he said.
The SRC said they will also propose the government for permanent shifting of people residing in high-risk hilltop and foothill areas to safer places in plains to prevent loss of life and property in landslides.
Meanwhile, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has started a study of the landslide cases of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and North East states. The Revenue and Disaster Management (R&DM) department is also coordinating with other departments for the purpose.
On Thursday, senior officials from Panchayati Raj department and Fire Services called for permanent shifting of people from landslide-prone areas, during a meeting of state authorities with the central team. Considering the threat to such habitations and difficulties faced by the administration in mobilising resources to such locations, steps in this direction should be expedited at the earliest, they said.
Frequent cyclones and changing patterns of intense rainfall in the recent years have made the state’s hilly regions more prone to landslides. Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal and parts of undivided Koraput have been identified to be the most vulnerable to this disaster that has claimed several lives in the past.
The recent landslides triggered by cyclone Arnab claimed three lives in Kandhamal and another three in Ganjam. Around 10 people are still missing in the landslide which occurred in Gidipabali village of Bhanjanagar block in Ganjam.
The state had also witnessed a massive landslide in October 2018 when cyclone Titli hit south Odisha, claiming around 14 lives in Barghara village under Gangabada panchayat in Gajapati. In its recent assessment, the state government has already identified over 150 landslide-prone spots in Gajapati district.
