Landslide Mitigation Efforts Worth ₹200 Crore To Benefit Over 50 Villages in Pune District
Landslide Mitigation Efforts Worth ₹200 Crore To Benefit Over 50 Villages in Pune District
The Pune district administration has launched a massive landslide mitigation initiative, worth ₹200 crore, to safeguard over 50 villages in the tehsils of Bhor, Velhe, Ambegaon, Junnar, Maval, and Khed. This move comes after the Geological Survey of India (GSI) recommended measures to prevent landslides in these villages, which are prone to natural disasters.
The proposed action plan includes constructing retaining walls, reducing slopes, and improving drainage control to prevent landslides. The state public works department (PWD) will execute this work over the next few months, with the aim of completing it before the monsoon season this year.
This initiative is crucial, given the district’s history of devastating landslides. In 2014, a massive landslide in Malin village, Ambegaon, resulted in the tragic loss of 151 lives ¹. The GSI has also recommended the permanent rehabilitation of a few hamlets, but this proposal is still pending with the state government.
GSI experts have emphasized the need for timely action in these villages, as local geographical deterioration is occurring gradually but gets triggered during the monsoon. The villages under threat are nestled in the Sahyadri ranges, with no connecting roads, making it challenging for the administration to provide emergency services during the monsoon.
Villagers, like those in Kondhari and Dhanwali, have been living under the constant fear of landslides. In July 2024, the Bhor tehsil administration had to evacuate around 100 villagers from these landslide-prone villages due to heavy rainfall. Proposals for the permanent rehabilitation of these villagers are still pending before the state government.
The GSI has listed these villages in the ‘dangerous’ category, as the occurrence of a landslide cannot be ruled out. Residents, like Bharati Kondhalkar, former sarpanch of Kondhari village, are anxious about their safety. “It is a matter of life and death for us,” she said while talking to the media person, highlighting the need for urgent action to prevent another disaster like Malin.
