Land subsidence takes place in Mussoorie, experts to carry out survey

Mussoorie, Feb 17 (IANS) A team of scientists visited Mussoorie after pictures of land subsidence sparked a rerun of a Joshimath-like situation in Uttarakhand.

Geoscientists and members of the Geotechnical Land Survey Committee surveyed the Landour Bazaar and South Road areas of Mussoorie to investigate the land subsidence.

The team included Mussorie Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shailendra Singh Negi, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology scientist Swapnamita Choudhary, Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee scientist Kishore Kulkarni, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) scientist Harishankar, Geological Survey of India (GSI) assistant geologist Ashish Prakash, Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project (UDRP) Geotech expert Venkateshwar, Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) geologist Sushil Khanduri and others.

Based on this survey, this team of geoscientists will prepare a report within a week and submit it to the State Disaster Management Authority.

Following this, a decision will be taken regarding the new construction activities in Mussoorie.

The team of geoscientists reached the Landour market on Thursday. They inspected the Landour hotel, road subsidence near a Jain temple, cracks appearing in buildings as well as South Road and Tehri Bypass Road area.

Piyush Rautela, executive director of the Uttarakhand Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre, who was also part of the team, said that a committee of officials from various departments has been formed by the state government, which is inspecting the land subsidence situation in Mussoorie.

Now the team will prepare its report on the basis of the survey done in the land subsidence-prone areas. On the basis of this report, experts will suggest what steps need be taken to avoid land subsidence.

Rautela said that there could be a ban imposed on new construction activities in these areas but it is not possible to ban it everywhere.

On the other hand, there are many buildings in Mussoorie whose structural life has expired. This poses a danger to people's lives in case of an earthquake.

IIT Roorkee Assistant Professor, Sharda Prasad Pradhan said, "No land subsidence happens in a day. This process happens gradually. All these aspects will be studied thoroughly."