As many as 23 taluks in seven districts of coastal and Malnad regions of the State are vulnerable to landslips, an expert committee headed by environmentalist Ananth Hegde Ashisara has said.
Based on the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) data, the report said 23 taluks were prone to landslips during the rainy season, causing damage to lives, properties, and movement of people. The report said heavy rain, mudslips, rock-falls, deforestation, and climate change were major reasons for landslips.
The committee said all three taluks of Kodagu; Sakleshpur taluk of Hassan district; Koppa, Mudigere, Sringeri, and Chikkamagalur taluks of Chikkamagalur district; Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district; Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honnavar, Siddapur, Sirsi, Yellapur, and Joida taluks of Uttara Kannada, Karkala taluk of Udupi district; Bantwal, Belthangady, Mangaluru, Sulia, and Puttur taluks of Dakshina Kannada are prone to landslips.
In the wake of major landslips during the monsoon in the last two years, the State government set up the committee to study regions affected by landslips and reasons for them. The committee comprised experts from IISc., ISRO, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, the KSNDMC, and other agencies.
New taluks
The expert committee, which submitted its final report to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Thursday, said that in the recent years landslips have also occurred in Kundapur taluk of Udupi; Thirthahalli and Hosanagara taluks of Shivamogga, and Khanapur in Belagavi district.
Mr. Ashisara, who is also the chairman of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board, has recommended strengthening of the district-level disaster management committee to contain landslips in the Western Ghats.
The committee has provided guidelines for the protection of rivers and valleys in the vulnerable areas of the Western Ghats and the coastal region. It has given several scientific suggestions and relief measures for the prevention of landslips, he said. Besides suggesting measures for the prevention of landslips, it said priority should be given to relief measures and reconstruction post-disaster.