* 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)
Comments
Post a Comment