Soldha area in Kangra district still prone to landslides: Study

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, November 6

The Soldha landslide site in Kangra district in Ningal village near Shahpur that faced landslide last monsoon is still active. The active sliding zone might pose a threat to the habitations in the vicinity. The fact has been brought out in a study conducted by the geological experts from the Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP).

The experts of the CUHP studied the landslide site near Shahpur on Saturday. Professor AK Mahajan, a geologist from the CUHP, said a study of Soldha site was conducted. Lidar survey was conducted to monitor the rate of movement of hill gravel at the landslide site. During the survey, a significant movement was detected, he said.

Asked if the movement of hill at the landslide could threaten the habitations, he said it could be possible as an entire Nindal village was located near the active slide zone in the area.

Meanwhile, Professor Mahajan said a national workshop on geodynamics in Himalaya and Disaster Management was being organised on the CUHP campus at Dharamsala from November 6 to 8. This historic event will bring together experts, scientists and researchers from across the world to deliberate on important issues of geodynamics in the Himalayan region and its implications for disaster management. This workshop is being jointly organised by the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, CUHP and the Geological Society of India, he said.

Professor Christopher ‘Chuck’ M Bailey, president of the Geological Society of America, and Professor HK Bansal, president of the Geological Society of India, will be present as special guests during the conference.

Mahajan said this gathering would provide an opportunity to discuss and highlight various aspects of Himalayan geodynamics and their implications for the Himalayan region. Geologically, this region of the Himalayas had remained unknown. During this monsoon season, the region faced massive landslides and floods. For this, new methods of operative geodynamic processes, sustainable exploration of mineral and energy resources, meteorological variations, climate change and global warming, seismic models, stress accumulation levels and current seismicity patterns to identify areas prone to such natural disasters in Himachal need evaluation.

The main topics of this workshop will be Himalayan geological disaster, geodynamics of the Himalayas, minerals of the Himalayan region, energy resources and natural hazards. One session of the workshop will focus on mineral/natural resources of Himachal and recent landslide issues, with the final day focusing on fieldwork around Dharamsala, he said.

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