Landslides in Uttarakhand: Queens of mountains Mussoorie and Nainital in grave danger:

The queens of the mountains, Mussoorie and Nainital are not safe during the rainy season. Major tourist places of Mussoorie have become most dangerous from the point of view of landslides. Nainital has an even more frightening history of landslide disasters. There in 1880, 151 people died due to landslides. The holding capacity of these two tourist towns has long been exhausted, yet there is a lot of construction going on to meet the hugely increased housing needs.
15 percent area of ​​Mussoorie is most in danger
Mussoorie, the second colony established by the British after Shimla in North India, is neither as beautiful nor as safe as it is now. Landslides in the third hill station Nainital had started since the British era.

According to a study conducted by the scientists of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIH), Mussoorie and its surrounding areas are prone to landslides. 15 areas of Mussoorie are most vulnerable to landslides.
Famous tourist destinations are most at risk

According to a research study by geologists of Wadia Institute published in the Journal of Earth System Science, the areas of Mussoorie that have been found most vulnerable to landslides include Bataghat, George Everest, Kempty Falls, Khatapani, Library, Gallogidhar and Hathipaon etc. . According to scientists, these areas have fragmented or cracked limestone rocks. Due to the flooding of water in their cracks, the surface of the earth with a slope of up to 60 degrees starts sinking or sliding.

This serious danger is the result of ignoring the capacity of the holder
Mussoorie is located in the outer Himalayas. These geologists studied 84 sq km area around Mussoorie and found that 15 percent of its area is highly vulnerable to landslides.

In the landslide sensitivity map published in the Journal of Earth System Science, these scientists have shown 29 percent of the area as moderately sensitive and 56 percent of the area as minimum sensitive. One of the reasons for the increase in the landslide susceptibility of the area has also been attributed to the excessive construction work ignoring the carrying capacity of Mussoorie.
Kempty Falls, Lal Tibba and Bhattafall are most at risk
According to another study conducted by the scientists of Uttarakhand Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre, Kempty Falls, Lal Tibba and Bhattafall are also the most vulnerable areas. The reason for this is attributed by geologist Sushil Khanduri to tectonic discontinuity and sharply unstable slopes.

In Khanduri’s study, areas north west of Bhattaghat and Lal Tibba are considered highly vulnerable to landslides, while areas north of Company Garden, northeast of Lal Tibba, west of Jabarkhet and southwest of Kyarakuli are considered highly vulnerable. .

Landslides are frequent in these areas. It has been suggested to keep these areas separate from human and construction activities. Similarly, the western region of Pari Tibba, Jabarkhet, Kyarkuli and Bhatta, the north west of Barloganj and the north east of Khatapani are considered to be moderate.

classified as sensitive. Whereas the covered western area of ​​Mussoorie has been kept in Least Sensitive Category. In this study of Khanduri, the areas south of Gunhill, Banshigad, Kyrakuli, Barloganj and Bataghat and western of Kandafall have been kept in the very vulnerable category. In this study, 31.6 percent area of ​​Mussoorie area has been kept in medium risk or sensitive category, 21.6 percent in high sensitive category and 1.7 percent area in very sensitive category.
Kempty Falls, Lal Tibba and Bhattafall are most at risk
According to another study conducted by the scientists of Uttarakhand Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre, Kempty Falls, Lal Tibba and Bhattafall are also the most vulnerable areas. The reason for this is attributed by geologist Sushil Khanduri to tectonic discontinuity and sharply unstable slopes.

In Khanduri’s study, areas north west of Bhattaghat and Lal Tibba are considered highly vulnerable to landslides, while areas north of Company Garden, northeast of Lal Tibba, west of Jabarkhet and southwest of Kyarakuli are considered highly vulnerable. .

Landslides are frequent in these areas. It has been suggested to keep these areas separate from human and construction activities. Similarly, the western region of Pari Tibba, Jabarkhet, Kyarkuli and Bhatta, the north west of Barloganj and the north east of Khatapani are considered to be moderate.

classified as sensitive. Whereas the covered western area of ​​Mussoorie has been kept in Least Sensitive Category. In this study of Khanduri, the areas south of Gunhill, Banshigad, Kyrakuli, Barloganj and Bataghat and western of Kandafall have been kept in the very vulnerable category. In this study, 31.6 percent area of ​​Mussoorie area has been kept in medium risk or sensitive category, 21.6 percent in high sensitive category and 1.7 percent area in very sensitive category.

Captain Young had settled Mussoorie
Dehradun’s Joint Magistrate and Superintendent Mr. When F.J. Shore and Captain Young of the British army in Dehradun had climbed the hill on foot above Dehradun to play hunting in 1823, they had found this place from where they had a picturesque view of the Doon valley. Loved the cold weather. It was here that both the British officers built a shooting box for hunting, which was the first structure built by Europeans. After that Captain Young built ‘Mullinger’ house in Landour.

Mullinger was the hometown of this Irish officer in Ireland. After that there was a military cantonment. Churches, hospitals and clubs for entertainment were built for British soldiers. North India’s first newspaper “The Hills” came out from here in 1842. Soon it became a famous settlement of the British which gave safe haven to the families of the British in the Mutiny of 1857.
151 British were buried and died in Nainital
The history of the landslide disaster of Nainital, the second favorite of the soldiers of the country and abroad, is more scary than Mussoorie. If you go through the pages of history, the first known landslide there was in 1866 on the Alma hill, and in 1879 there was a major landslide at the same place. The largest landslide in Nainital occurred on 18 September 1880, in which 151 people were buried under the rubble, almost all of them were Europeans.
Danger increases in the rainy season in Nainital
The picturesque lakes district of Nainital is one of the popular tourist places in India. The district is also located between Main Central Thrust (MCT) and Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) in the Lesser Himalayas or Outer Himalayas where landslides occur every year. Leaning trees and pillars are a sign of sliding under the ground as seen on several hills in and around the city of Nainital. The curvature of the tree trunk records the rate of creep during the period of tree growth.

During the rainy season, the speed of crawling or sliding is very fast. Due to the wild cutting of forests and construction on steep slopes, the speed of land slipping also accelerates. The construction activities in Nainital have been going on at full speed to meet the growing housing and development requirement of the people. Due to these activities, the slopes of Nainital are becoming more unstable, which has increased the landslide risk manifold. To keep landslide problems to a minimum, measures to prevent slope instability need to be seriously considered.
More than 400 villages in danger
Most of the settlements in the mountains are settled on old dormant landslides due to the availability of fertile soil for agriculture and low slope land for living. That is why 80 percent of the state of Uttarakhand is very vulnerable to landslides due to unstable slopes. Hardly any such rain passes in the state when there are no landslide disasters in Uttarakhand. About 400 villages of the state have been declared vulnerable from the point of view of landslides, which have to be displaced and resettled in safe places, but the government is not getting that much land.

Due to the strict provisions of the Forest Act, the government is not even getting forest land for rehabilitation. More vulnerable, highly curved and fractured rocks, steep slopes, high seismicity and unfavorable hydro-geological conditions are responsible for the high landslide susceptibility of the state. Apart from this, disorderly development construction activities further increase the risk of landslides.

Dehradun’s Joint Magistrate and Superintendent Mr. Discovered by F.J. Shore and Captain Young and then settled by Captain Young, Mussoorie first tempted European whites and then the Indian elite.