THE INDIAN LANDSLIDE SCENARIO, STRATEGIC ISSUES AND ACTION POINTS

Landslides are among the major hydro-geological hazards that affect large parts of India, especially the Himalayas, the Northeastern hill ranges, the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris, the Eastern Ghats and the Vindhyas, in that order. In the Himalayas alone, one could find landslides of every fame, name and description- big and small, long and short, quick and creeping, ancient and new. The northeastern region is badly affected by landslide problems of a bewildering variety. Landslides in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal as also those in Sikkim, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh pose chronic problems causing all kinds of losses. There are landslides in the Western Ghats in the south, along the steep slopes overlooking the Konkan coast. Landslides are also very common in the Nilgiris, characterized by a lateratic cap, which is highly landslide prone. India has a sensational record of catastrophes due to landslides, unique and unparalleled. The Darjeeling floods of 1968 destroyed vast areas of Sikkim and West Bengal by unleashing spate of landslides, causing considerable death and destruction. These landslides occurred over a three-day period with precipitation ranging from 500 to 1000 mm in an event of a 100-year return period. The 60km mountain highway to Darjeeling got cut off at 92 places resulting into loss o