Wildlife,DEEP DIVE By Sujit ChakrabortyImphal, July 17 (IANS) Experts have identified

Experts raise red flags, pinpoint multiple causes for Manipur landslides #IndiaNEWS #Science /Technology,Environment/Wildlife,DEEP DIVE
By Sujit ChakrabortyImphal, July 17 (IANS) Experts have identified non-resistant soil condition, prevalence of micro-seismicity, besides changing land use patterns on the top of hills such as deforestation as the cause for the recent catastrophic landslides in Manipur.
At least 55 people, including Territorial Army soldiers,railway workers and local villagers were killed in the landslides, while search operations were still underway in inclement weather to locate six missing.
The disastrous landslides at a railway construction site at Tupul in western Manipurs Noney district on June 29-30 buried alive over 60 people mostly of the Territorial Army soldiers.
After the unprecedented tragedy, Manipurs Directorate of Environment and Climate Change has formed an expert group to identify the causes of the enormous landslides.
The seven-member expert group headed by Prof. Arun Kumar of the Manipur University, has identified non-resistant soil condition, prevalence of micro-seismicity, besides changing land use patterns on the top of hills such as deforestation and unscientific Jhum (shifting and burn method of farming) cultivation as some of the factors which triggered the landslides.
The experts, which along with Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, who hails from Manipur, visited the site on a number of occasions stated: Geologically, non-resistant lithology (shale interbedded with mudstone, siltstone and sandstone) of Barail Group exposed in the study area after the modification of the slope geometry that impedes the mountains ability to resist the existing gravitational force may become one of the causes of mass wasting and landsliding.
According to the expert committee report, geologically, western Manipur consists of tertiary strata (rock formations), which are most vulnerable to the landslide hazards due to the seismically active tectonic terrain. The rock formations are highly jointed, fractured, faulted and display the neo-tectonic movements.
The climate is sub-humid with high rainfall (1600 mm) in Manipur, which is one of the triggering factors for most of the frequent landslide hazards with existing geological formations and typically rugged topography.
The interbedded shale, mudstone, siltstone and sandstone exhibit weak lithology and existing discontinuities in the forms of joints, cracks, faults along the moderate to steep slopes are the main triggering factors for the landslides.
The alignments of the National Highways in Manipur across the terrain have also increased the frequent landslides due to the disturbances in the toe, as most of the alignments traverse along these typical adverse geological and geomorphological situations, said the report available with IANS.

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