Friday’s massive landslide at Talai in Raigad district in coastal Konkan region, which has already claimed 50 lives, brought back the worst-ever landslide that took place at Malin in Pune district in July 2014, in which 151 people were killed.
As per the preliminary reports reaching the state headquarters, a 50 to 60 metres portion of a hillock gave way and slid onto three dozen homes below at Talai village in Mahad taluka of rain-ravaged Raigad district in coastal Konkan region, trapping more than 200 people under the debris.
Senior state NCP leader and MP Sunil Tatkar from Raigad district, who has been camping at the mishap site since the morning, said that more than 50 bodies had been recovered from under the debris, while more people were feared trapped under the debris.
Like in the case of Malin landslide – which took place amid torrential rains, the immediate cause of the Talai landslide is being attributed to a low pressure trough which had developed over the Arabian Sea that caused continuous heavy rainfall for more than 24 hours before the actual event.
Another reason being attributed to the Talai landslide is the deforestation along with faulty agricultural practices might have destablised the slope and the rainwater infiltrated to a crucial depth where the top soil layer moved under the influence of gravity. It may be recalled that a more severe landslide had rocked Malin village in Pune district on July 30, 2014, killing as many as 151 people.
As many as 189 people were in the Malin Gaotan, the central portion of the village where the landslide occurred on the morning of July 30 2014. Of the 189 people, 151 were killed in the landslide, while 38 survived the disaster. Of the total persons dead, eight had come to the village as guests
The landslide, which occurred at around 6 am on July 30, had crushed as many as 66 properties, including 47 households, in Malin village. Malin, which forms a part of the Bhimashankar Hills, is located on the hilly terrain of Western Ghats. It has incidentally been identified as one of the eco-sensitive villages by a High Level Working Group (HLWG) headed by Dr K Kasturirangan.
Like the series of the landslides witnessed in the Sahyadri ranges of Western Ghats, the Talai land is a near-repeat of the Malin incident. Talai is nestled in the foothills of the Sahyadri mountain range. It is near Mahad, where the historic Raigad fort is located.
Located 820 metres (2,700 ft) above sea level in the Sahyadri mountain range, the Raigad fort was built by Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji which he made it his capital in 1674 after being crowned as the king of the Maratha kingdom, which later developed into the Maratha Empire.
