Wayanad landslides: Is neigbouring Karnataka listening?

As many as 895 gram panchayats in 43 taluks of seven districts in Karnataka face the danger of landslides in the wake of the Kerala disaster that has killed over 200 people.

According to sources in the Karnataka revenue department, 177 taluks are in the danger zone of potential floods and landslides.

Just 10 days before the tragedy in Wayanad ago, a devastating landslide struck Shiruru village near Ankola in Karnataka, leaving 10 people dead.

Nature’s fury

The catastrophe unfolded when the entire hillside collapsed, burying more than 15 people and several vehicles under a thick layer of mud.

The rescuers could not locate those believed to be stuck under a huge mass of soil. With rain pouring incessantly. the rescuers failed to trace three persons.

The Wayanad tragedy reminds the people of Karnataka about the earlier environmental disaster in Kodagu district.

The 2018 disaster

Between August 10 and 17 in 2018, heavy downpour caused several landslides and killed 20 people and damaged 4,058 homes. Some 18,000 people were evacuated.

This was the first colossal tragedy in Kodagu and the first significant episode of a landslide in Karnataka.

Rainfall during that period broke all the records in living memory.

Disrespecting Western Ghats

The landslides swallowed 48 villages of Madikeri and Somwarpet talukas. The rivers shifted. New mountains and rivers were created due to landslides and flooding.

Environmentalists blame these ecological disasters including in Wayanad to successive governments’ failure in notifying the Western Ghats as an eco-sensitive area (ESA).

The forest region in Karnataka is contiguous with Kerala’s Wayanad as they all come under the Western Ghats range. In other words, they share the same risks and are equally fragile.

Demarcate affected areas

The Western Ghats stretch for 1,600 km, covering the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Environmentally concerned people are urging the state and Central governments to demarcate the landslide prone areas in the Western Ghats and strictly monitor them.

In the last two days itself, torrential rains in Western Ghats region has led to landslides in 10 locations of Shiradi, Chikkamagaluru, Charmadi, Kodagu, Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts in Karnataka.

Danger areas identified

Landslips and flooding of roads in several other places cut off traffic between Bengaluru and Mangaluru.

The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell (KSNDMC) has advised people to avoid sloping areas because of the possibility of landslides.

The main road connecting Kumbaradi with Harle Estate in Sakleshpur in Hassan district was washed away after heavy rains and landslides early on Tuesday. A part of the road caved in 80 feet.

Projects blamed for crisis

Environmentalist Prasad Rakshidhi blames the ongoing Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Project for the recurring landslides as the site is located close to the Yettinahole project.

Residents of Mallegadde, Dinekere, Maranahalli, Kadumane and Harle located adjacent to the landslide location are living in fear for their life and property.

Hundreds of them confronted senior officials when they asked people to vacate safer places regarding the rationale behind what they said were unscientific developmental projects.

Dangers from tunnel

The residents wondered why the government took up the 23.60 km Shiradi Ghat Tunnel Project (SGTP) to connect Sakaleshpur and Dakshina Kannada districts.

While environmentalists oppose the project fearing further destruction of the sensitive Western Ghats, the Mangaluru-based Kenara Chamber of Commerce and Industries backs it.

“There is already a railway track passing through this stretch besides a road. Building a tunnel next to the Yettinahole reservoir only increases the chance of more landslides,” warns Kishore, an environmentalist based in Sakleshpur.

Karnataka government flayed

Environmental expert Ananth Hegde Ashisara accuses the Karnataka government of not holding a single meeting to discuss the Comprehensive Landslide Prevention and Mitigation Plan submitted by the Bio-diversity Board.

“The committee had recommended mapping of landslide hazards and high-risk zones based on the geology and geography of the terrain,” he said. However, he says, this has yet to be done.

The committee had recommended a sustainable road development policy for the Western Ghats, a ban on mining in hilly regions, restoration of damaged hillocks and curbs on the use of wood cutting and land digging equipment among other emergency methods.

Wake up please, say greens

“The committee's recommendations have not been implemented. At least now, the government should take them seriously,” says Sakleshpur resident Attihalli Devaraj.

A committee headed by noted ecological expert Dr Madhav Gadgil was set up in 2010. A second panel is under the chairmanship of noted scientist K Kasturirangan in 2012.

Based on the recommendations of the Kasturirangan panel, five notifications were issued. But some states, including Kerala and Karnataka, are not on board, leaving ecologically sensitive areas unprotected.

The danger spots

According to government sources, another draft notification, the sixth, is expected to be issued shortly as the validity of the fifth expired a month ago.

According to the contents of the draft notification, Karnataka has the highest extent of ecologically sensitive zone (ESZ) of 20,668 sq. km and Gujarat the least (449 sq km).

Maharashtra ranks second with17,340 sq km followed by Tamil Nadu (6,914 sq km) and Goa (1,461 sq km). The ESZ is expected to cover 1,572 villages in Karnataka.

Stich in time saves nine

These villagers are spread across Chamarajanagar, Shivamogga, Chikkmagaluru, Belagavi, Mysuru, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Hassan.

“If the Gadgil committee report had been implemented a decade ago, Kerala would not have faced the situation of this kind now. Similarly, incidents in Karnataka could have been avoided,” says Kesari Harvoo, a national award filmmaker who did a documentary on the Western Ghats.