{"id":256322,"date":"2023-08-16T20:36:32","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T15:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=256322"},"modified":"2023-08-29T13:00:05","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T07:30:05","slug":"express-view-on-himachal-pradesh-tragedy-a-slippery-slope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/express-view-on-himachal-pradesh-tragedy-a-slippery-slope\/","title":{"rendered":"Express View on Himachal Pradesh tragedy: A slippery slope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cExpress View on Himachal Pradesh tragedy: A slippery slope\u201d <\/strong>published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d <\/strong>on 16th August 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS1- Changes to Geographical phenomenon, GS3- Disaster Management<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>– recently cloudbursts and landslides in Himachal Pradesh claimed the lives of 50 people.<\/p>\n

What are the reasons behind the recent disaster in Himachal Pradesh?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Floods and landslides<\/strong> are frequent occurrences in the Himalayan region. These youthful mountains are characterised by geological activity.<\/strong> The area has a prolonged history of landslides.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As per the ISRO’s Landslide Atlas of India<\/strong>, all twelve districts in Himachal Pradesh are vulnerable to landslides. However, recent years have witnessed an increase in the instability of the slopes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to data from the state’s disaster management records, the number of landslides <\/strong>surged by nearly sixfold between 2020 and 2022.<\/p>\n

Climate change<\/strong> and the rise in instances of extreme rainfall events<\/strong> have aggravated the vulnerabilities.<\/strong> Indeed, the average temperature in the Himalayas is increasing at a faster pace compared to the rest of the country.<\/p>\n

The ecologically insensitive development<\/strong> has compromised Himachal Pradesh’s ability to withstand adverse weather conditions.<\/p>\n

Over the last decade, the state has been widening roads.<\/strong> A total of 69 national highway projects<\/strong> has gained approval during this period. Five of them are designated as four-lane highways.<\/p>\n

Road development should consider the ecological vulnerabilities<\/strong> of the area. The road expansion initiatives have neglected to consider the stability of slopes. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Furthermore, there is minimal planning<\/strong> regarding the management of construction debris. The Himachal Pradesh High Court has expressed grave concerns about the “poorly executed construction”<\/strong> of roads within the state.<\/p>\n

Early Warning Systems<\/strong> designed to notify people about impending landslides are in their initial stages of development<\/strong> in the country. In Kangra, the EWS failed to effectively alert people about a landslide that occurred in the first week of this month.<\/p>\n

Way forward-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Effectively addressing the uncertainties of weather<\/strong> will necessitate significant shifts in approaches and interventions at multiple levels. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The tragic incident in Himachal should serve as a cautionary signal for policymakers<\/strong> against deferring such initiatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cExpress View on Himachal Pradesh tragedy: A slippery slope\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d on 16th August 2023. Syllabus: GS1- Changes to Geographical phenomenon, GS3- Disaster Management News– recently cloudbursts and landslides in Himachal Pradesh claimed the lives of 50 people. What are the reasons behind the… Continue reading Express View on Himachal Pradesh tragedy: A slippery slope<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[411,216],"class_list":["post-256322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-disaster-management","tag-gs-paper-3","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":15,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1700118103},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}