According to data gathered by the disaster management department, the number of large landslides in Himachal Pradesh increased by a factor of six over the course of the last two years, with 117 occurring in 2022 as opposed to 16 in 2020.
In the state, there are 17,120 landslide-prone locations, 675 of which are close to vital infrastructure and habitations.
Chamba (133) has the most such locations, followed by Mandi (110), Kangra (102) Lahaul and Spiti (91), Una (63), Kullu (55), Shimla (50), Solan (44), Bilaspur (37), Sirmaur (21) and Kinnaur (15).The main cause of the large number of landslides, according to experts, is intense rainfall combined with the cutting of hill slopes or rocks in the foothills.
Prof. Virender Singh Dhar, a geology specialist, noted the extensive cutting of hill slopes for building and road widening, blasting for tunnels, hydro projects, and mining as causes for the rise in landslides.
Rainfall has decreased in duration while increasing in intensity.
According to climate change scientist Suresh Attre, high temperatures and heavy rains can cause landslides because they loosen the strata in areas where foothills have been cut downstream.Out of the 117 large landslides that were observed in 2022, Kullu reported the most, at 21, followed by Mandi at 20, Lahaul and Spiti at 18, Shimla at 15, Lahaul and Spiti at 14, Sirmaur at 9, Bilapsur at 8, Kangra at 5, Kinnaur at 3, Solan at 1, and Una at 1, but not Hamirpur.
According to Sudesh Mokta, Special Secretary for Disaster Management, most slides were seen during the rainy season.
According to a former bureaucrat, increased human activity and the exploitation of natural resources for development have created a severe threat to ecology.The major active landslides/sinking sites in the state included villages Jhandota and Kakroti and Sapdoth Panchayat in Chamba, Mcleodganj hill and Bariara village in Kangra, Baridhar to Kalyan Ghati road, Mansar near Salogra and Jabalpatwar village in Solan, Kotrupi, Doada Hanogi, 5, 6 and 7 mile near Pandoh and village Nagani in Mandi district.
The other sites include Urni Dhank, Batsari, Nesang, Purbani Julha in Kinnaur besides Nigulsari where 28 people were killed and 13 were injured in a major landslide on August 11, 2021.
