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On the night of August 27, at around 11 pm, landslides unrolled from Varunavat mountain in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi amid incessant rainfall. Fortunately, there’s no loss of life or injuries reported so far.
Stones and boulders descended intermittently from the mountain, while dozens of trees broke and fell. The administration responded by evacuating the residents from the Gofiyara residential area and the Indira colony which are situated at the foot of the hill.
Uttarkashi, known as the gateway to Gangotri and Yamunotri, is situated at the foothills of the Varunavat mountain alongside the Bhagirathi river.
The areas around Varunavat mountain are extremely sensitive from an ecological perspective. It is located in a seismically active zone, having experienced a 6.1 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale in 1991.
Dwarka Prasad Semwal, a resident of Uttarkashi and environmentalist, told Down To Earth (DTE), “Due to the presence of pine forests, forest fires occur here in the summer, loosening the soil. Additionally, the rainfall is no longer gentle as it used to be. This time, the rainfall caused roads and mountains that were considered extremely strong hard rock to break apart, which was unimaginable. Previously, not a single piece of stone would fall from them.”
Devendra Patwal, an officer in the state disaster management department, who has served in the area and been recently transferred to neighbouring Champawat, mentioned that committee of experts from Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited, Geological Survey of India, and Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre (ULMCC), has inspected the landslide-affected area. The committee is yet to submit its final report.
Ruchika Tandon, a committee member and geologist at ULMCC, confirmed Semwal's observations.
“We surveyed the landslide-affected area up to the summit of Varunavat mountain. We observed the impact of forest fires there, with burnt grass visible in some places. It cannot be denied that soil erosion may have weakened the upper surface. There was heavy rainfall on August 26-27,” Tandon told DTE.
“The part of the mountain from which the landslide occurred has a 30-degree slope at the top, followed by a steep incline. The intense downpours caused stones to break and fall from there,” she added.
It is important to mention that intense rainfall occurring in the mountains in one place is exacerbating damage.
Tandon mentioned that satellite imagery has already shown signs of minor damage in this area.
“We did not find cracks at the peak of the mountain. Under the current conditions, we assume that there is no imminent danger of a major landslide here. However, debris has been observed stuck at various points, and there is a possibility of it gradually coming down,” she explained.
The ULMCC has recommended constructing a three-tier protective wall at different heights on Varunavat.
“We have suggested building strong protective gabion walls made of stones. This way, if debris does come from above, it can be caught below, reducing its impact. While we cannot prevent stones from falling, a robust protective wall can help safeguard the population below. In the long term, strengthening soil retention can enhance the mountain's stability,” Tandon said.
Presently, the area affected by the recent landslide is different from the landslide that occurred in 2003, leading experts to believe there is no connection to the previous event.
On September 23, 2003, Varunavat began to suddenly collapse. The falling stones damaged more than 360 buildings either fully or partially, affecting thousands of people. The old portion of the town was devastated by that landslide.
The team of experts who inspected the landslide at that time noted in their report, “The Varunavat landslide of 2003 was an extension of the Tambakhani landslide. The landslide remained active for about 15 days, destabilising the entire area. The accumulation of rainwater weakened the mountain's rocks, causing them to break and fall.”
The committee had then recommended in its report that to reduce landslide-related damage, cities should not be established at the foothills of mountains, but instead, a buffer zone around the mountain should be developed.
Semwal, the local resident, highlighted that illegal encroachments are continuously rising around the sensitive Varunavat mountain, with people constructing houses there.
Meanwhile, Jay Pawar, an advisor to the Uttarkashi District Disaster Management Authority, stated that based on the expert committee’s report, work to address the issues on Varunavat will begin soon.
“Currently, about 27 families residing in the affected area have been asked to stay in relief camps or other safe locations. They return home during the day for their activities but do not stay overnight,” he told DTE.
According to the Landslide Atlas of India, eight out of the thirteen districts in Uttarakhand are listed as highly vulnerable to landslides.
Following the Varunavat landslide, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the development of a landslide warning system.
Piyush Rautela, who recently resigned as the executive director of the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, told DTE, “The Geological Survey of India issues warnings related to landslides. Generally, these warnings are associated with rainfall. However, predicting exactly when and where a landslide will occur is very difficult.”
In Nainital, which is situated on the mountains, landslide monitoring was last conducted until 1997.
“In areas where the threat of landslides to the population is higher, monitoring can be done to develop a warning system. Today, we also have much better technology for this,” Rautela added.