Beware of the hills.
Frequency of landslides in India is indeed increasing. By Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi Geologist. Malin, the village in Pune district that was flattened by a landslide few days back claiming more than 130 lives, has brought the focus back on the management –or mismanagement – of the vulnerable hills of India especially Western Ghats, Himalayas and North Eastern states. The torrential rain on July 30 near Pune perhaps would not have brought down a side of the hill had it not been weakened by quarrying, leveling and deforestation activities banned in the old weathered hills and ecologically sensitive areas. Last year it was Uttrakhand this year it is Malin and Nepal. A massive landslide in Nepal triggered by continuous monsoon rains, caused 10 deaths, displaced 5,000 families and destroyed dozens of houses. The landslide has also blocked the Sunkoshi River and forming a lake which is threatening to cause downstream flash floods. Heavy rainfall in June last year wreaked havoc ac...