Landslides see no end in city!

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 12: If flood in the State has its accomplice as erosion, water-logging in Guwahati has its accomplice as landslide.

Landslides in the city are a reality every year during the monsoon. However, the administration in the city has not been able to bring about awareness among the people residing in the city which is crisscrossed by as many as 19 hillocks. A section of residents of the city also do the mischief by repeating the same thing even after facing fatal accidents.

In 2013 the Kamrup (M) District Disaster Magement Authority (DDMA) did conduct a survey in the city and identify as many as 366 areas in the city as landslide-prone. For 271 of landslide-prone areas action was urgent. However, despite the survey in 2013 Guwahati witnessing landslides even today is a matter to be thought about. A six-year-old girl was buried alive at Panikhaiti on July 3 this year.  Despite such incidents, there are many houses in Guwahati that are vulnerable spots for landslides. Even there are also scenes that plastic sheets were kept over sheer steeps to prevent landslides.   This year also, the district administration has asked people residing in vulnerable spots to move to safer areas through the circle officers, but such strictures seldom work.       As many as 75 notices have been issued to as many families in Guwahati Revenue Circle, 37 in Chandrapur Revenue Circle, 29 in Sopur Revenue Circle and above 30 in Dispur Revenue Circle informing that the spots they are living are not safe in so far as landslide is concerned.