Environmentalists have said that failure to properly remove debris have resulted in cracks forming in the treated portion of Varunavat mountain in Uttarkashi. A greater risk of landslide would be faced in the future with rainwater entering these cracks, they point out.
The method of treatment applied in the case of Varunavat is highly questionable as simply applying cement on a geologically unstable mountain cannot be expected to yield the desired results, they add.
Environmental activist Suresh Bhai who recently returned from Varunavat said that during the treatment of this landslide-prone mountain, the unstable debris were simply covered with a layer of cement which has increased the potential for landslide. He said that water from the top of the mountain is also draining through the landslide affected area.
He said, “The failure to properly remove the debris has caused cracks in the treated area and if rain water accumulates in these cracks, the risk of landslides in the future will be heightened.
The composition of mountains is unlike the composition of the human body wherein broken bones and other damage can be repaired. The ‘treatment’ of mountains is a laughable as simply filling cement in cracks appearing in the mountain cannot do much in case of a mountain shaking consistently with geological activity.
Scores of such landslide prone mountains have been created around the Tehri dam reservoir. If the THDC takes its scientists and gets such mountains treated, the people might understand the treatment of landslide prone mountains.
The present situation of Varunavat is a result of traditional knowledge being ignored completely in treatment of the situation. The people of Uttarkashi town, Sangrali and Pata should now be given the responsibility of treating the mountain.
The Government should sit with the locals and discuss means for effective water drainage from the mountain. In addition to plantation of bushy flora, broad leafed trees should be planted in place of the trees axed by the forest corporation during the treatment of the mountain.
Considering the risk of landslide recurring in the future, the people of Uttarkashi will have to find non-political solutions to the problems being faced at Varunavat,” he stressed.