The main cause of Malin landslide is natural: GSI

* Top GSI scientists from Nagpur are camping in Pune to find out reasons behind the killer landslide
By Kartik Lokhande 

While a debate is raging whether the killer landslide at village Malin in Pune district was caused by human activities or natural factors, a team of Geological Survey of India (GSI) has found that the main cause was natural.
“We are still conducting our inspections of the site but ongoing rescue operations and heavy rains have stopped us from visiting more sites around. But, on the basis of our findings so far, we can say that the main cause behind Malin landslide was natural,” Dr Asimkumar Saha, Deputy Director General (Central Region) of GSI, told ‘The Hitavada’ over telephone from Pune. A team of GSI scientists including two top scientists from Nagpur is camping in Pune to conduct further investigations into the incident.
Sharing the findings so far, Dr Saha said that the hill-slope at Malin was steep and soil column also was not very thick. Combined with excessive rainfall of 400-500 mm, the soil over hard rock got saturated with water. “It was not a rock fall. With excessive rainfall and flood, soil column over the rock got eroded and mud gushed towards the village,” said Dr Saha. Asked whether human interference played any role in the incident, Dr Saha said that there were no evidences of direct human interference. The incident could be attributed a little bit to human activity in the village, but the main cause is natural, he added.
The GSI team is camping in Pune and preparing for infrastructure near village Malin, so that a camp could be set up there for steady pace of investigation. Rains have stopped the team from proceeding to sites closer to the hill. “Day after tomorrow, our team will move to the site for further studies,” he said. The team that will be conducting further studies will be headed by Dr C D Singh, Superintending Geologist, who has a wide experience and expertise in landslide studies in North-Eastern region of the country. The team will comprise two GSI officers. Apart from Dr Saha, another senior scientist from Nagpur GSI who is camping in Pune is Dr Shekhar Sarkar, Deputy Director General.

No such threat to
Vid: Dr A K Saha
Asked if areas in and around Nagpur or Vidarbha region are vulnerable to such disasters as the one that occured in Malin, Dr Asimkumar Saha said that there was no such threat. “There are hills but nno deep gullies or steep slopes in Nagpur or nearby areas as well as Vidarbha. Besides, not a single such incident has been reported so far in this region. There is no such threat to Vidarbha,” Dr Saha added. 

(Published in The Hitavada CityLine on August 4, 2014)

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