Nagpur: The over-crowded hill-stations of the country are facing landslide threats due to an increase in tourism and infrastructure projects. A research done by Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri) on Dehradun, which is facing “the challenge of tourist over-burden”, revealed that proper development plan and strict by-laws are immediately needed at hilly areas.
The scientists used geo-spatial technologies like global positioning system (GPS), GIS and remote sensing to study the impact of tourism on the land eco-system of Dehradun. The study, which was initiated last year under Neeri director Rakesh Kumar, recently got published in a scientific journal.
Neeri plans to submit the report to the Dehradun Municipal Corporation. Earlier, Neeri did a similar study for Manali and is presently doing research on impact of tourism on the lakes of Nanital.
After doing image analysis of the satellite data of 1972, 2000 and 2016, Neeri derived the land use and land cover (LULC) of Dehradun. While different LULC classes like agriculture, forest, scrubland, water body, plantation and vegetation were analysed, Neeri’s main focus area was the built-up class which refers to man-made constructions.
To evaluate the impact of tourism, the scientists super-imposed the built-up area on maps of different slopes. “This brought to the fore that post 2005, the number of constructions on high slope areas has increased. This is a matter of concern as steep slopes are more prone to landslides,” said Ritesh Vijay, principal scientist at the Centre for Strategic Urban Management (C-SUM) and director’s research cell.
Neeri’s study states that the massive flood and subsequent landslide, which occurred in Badrinath and Kedarnath in 2013, is a prominent example of how construction on slope can be dangerous. “Almost 5,300 deaths have been reported due to landslides in the last 16 years in Uttarrakhand. As per statistics, 66, 53 and 114 people have died in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively,” the study stated.
The land use and land cover data further revealed that forest cover in Dehradun saw a decrease from 47.1 to 45.8%during 1972-2000. “There has also been a decrease in agriculture and vegetation land. This shows that anthropogenic pressure is affecting the natural eco system,” said Saurabh Sakhre, a PhD scholar at Neeri.
As per the study, the number of tourist inflow has significantly increased. “From 8,74,000 in 1997, it went up to 11,69,000 in 2011. Looking at the trend, approximately 20,89,000 visitors are expected to visit Dehradun by 2025, thus exerting immense pressure on the area’s eco-system,” it stated.
Neeri has warned that the increase in number of tourists and built-up is a threat for Dehradun. “Some of the built-up parts are falling under the category of landslide high susceptibility. This requires immediate attention of regulatory authorities which should form strict by-laws,” said the report.
