IIT Roorkee red flagged bad roads which contributed to landslides in Uttarakhand
It's in the air, and all of it is true. The Armed Forces have pulled off
an amazing helicopter rescue operation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand , but they had no option as Uttarakhand's roads simply melted away before raging rivers and falling rocks.
In a report shared with the Uttarakhand government, geologists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Civil Engineering Department (Hill Area Development) Bureau of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) have blamed "unplanned" road construction for the disaster .
The department says the state's roads have been made without apt guidance from geologists and environmentalists. The Civil Engineering Department (Hill Area Development) Bureau of BIS had charted executive director of the DMMC, a body headed by out guidelines and codes for constructing roads in Himalayan terrain. Taking a cue from BIS guidelines for development in hilly areas, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, analysed roads in Uttarakhand, reporting that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed roads in wilful ignorance of geological and environmental conditions.
The report was released at the International Conference on Energy Resources and Technologies for Sustainable Development in February 2013 at Howrah, Kolkata. The report says clearly that more such landslides are waiting to happen if unplanned road construction continues in Uttarakhand. IIT geologists said that crucial parameters like geological safety factor, slopes and the characteristics of rocks should be considered before making a road in the Himalayan terrain.
"Landslides constitute one of the major natural disasters in the Himalayan ecosystem. The fragile Himalayan terrain often faces significant problems of geo-environmental imbalance due to landslides. Construction of roads in Himalayan terrain is hazardous, if the existing instabilities are properly not accounted during excavations. The highly seismic and unpredicted concentrated rainfall pattern are also responsible for landslides in the Himalaya," said Dr Rathinam Anbalagan, chairperson, Civil Engineering Department, Hill Area Development, BIS. Dr Anbalagan is also a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at IIT, Roorkee. He has personally analysed road construction in Uttarakhand.
No inputs of geology
"It is a matter of humans lives and environment, and it is essential that systematic studies, including inputs of geology and geotechnical parameters, are taken up during planning stage of projects in order to minimise the environmental hazards in the form of landslides," he said. The IIT report found that most roads in Uttarakhand were constructed with little or no inputs of geology and geotechnical parameters during planning and hence have many unstable stretches.
"The Karnaprayag-Gwaldam road falling in Higher Himalayas was taken up for detailed evaluation during our assessment. It is a strategically very important road, since it is the only connecting link between Garhwal and Kumaon Divisions of Uttarakhand. Geologically Nagthat-Berinag Formation of Jaunsar Group of rocks (types of rocks) containing mainly Karnaprayag metavolcanics (rocks)and interbedded quartzites (type of rocks) are exposed between Karnaprayag and Begali. Higher Himalayan Almora Group of rocks are predominantly exposed in the eastern sector of the area we studied," said Dr Anbalagan.
IIT researchers found that roads made on slopes in Uttarakhand are highly unstable and are prone to cause damage to human lives with landslides. "From the stability analysis and field observations, it is clear that the slopes are unstable and are still in active state of instability. Even the newly constructed houses just above the crown show cracks on the walls. Several prominent open ground cracks were seen in the upper parts of slide area as well as on the slopes close to the road," said Dr Anbalagan.
The Karnaprayag-Gwaldam field investigations also revealed that the toe erosion of slope by the Pindar river was a significant factor in inducing instability. Taking into consideration the nature of instability, type of slope materials and slope geometry, IIT researchers suggested a set of control measures that may help to improve the overall stability of the slopes.
Stability analysis
"We collected the field samples and tested in the laboratory for their shear strength. The stability analysis through tests indicated that the slopes are just stable under dry conditions and on water saturation the slopes become unstable. A set stability measures have been suggested, including construction of retaining walls and other related measures. The designs of all these measures have also been provided for implementation on the ground," he said.
In a report shared with the Uttarakhand government, geologists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Civil Engineering Department (Hill Area Development) Bureau of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) have blamed "unplanned" road construction for the disaster .
The department says the state's roads have been made without apt guidance from geologists and environmentalists. The Civil Engineering Department (Hill Area Development) Bureau of BIS had charted executive director of the DMMC, a body headed by out guidelines and codes for constructing roads in Himalayan terrain. Taking a cue from BIS guidelines for development in hilly areas, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, analysed roads in Uttarakhand, reporting that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed roads in wilful ignorance of geological and environmental conditions.
The report was released at the International Conference on Energy Resources and Technologies for Sustainable Development in February 2013 at Howrah, Kolkata. The report says clearly that more such landslides are waiting to happen if unplanned road construction continues in Uttarakhand. IIT geologists said that crucial parameters like geological safety factor, slopes and the characteristics of rocks should be considered before making a road in the Himalayan terrain.
"Landslides constitute one of the major natural disasters in the Himalayan ecosystem. The fragile Himalayan terrain often faces significant problems of geo-environmental imbalance due to landslides. Construction of roads in Himalayan terrain is hazardous, if the existing instabilities are properly not accounted during excavations. The highly seismic and unpredicted concentrated rainfall pattern are also responsible for landslides in the Himalaya," said Dr Rathinam Anbalagan, chairperson, Civil Engineering Department, Hill Area Development, BIS. Dr Anbalagan is also a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at IIT, Roorkee. He has personally analysed road construction in Uttarakhand.
No inputs of geology
"It is a matter of humans lives and environment, and it is essential that systematic studies, including inputs of geology and geotechnical parameters, are taken up during planning stage of projects in order to minimise the environmental hazards in the form of landslides," he said. The IIT report found that most roads in Uttarakhand were constructed with little or no inputs of geology and geotechnical parameters during planning and hence have many unstable stretches.
"The Karnaprayag-Gwaldam road falling in Higher Himalayas was taken up for detailed evaluation during our assessment. It is a strategically very important road, since it is the only connecting link between Garhwal and Kumaon Divisions of Uttarakhand. Geologically Nagthat-Berinag Formation of Jaunsar Group of rocks (types of rocks) containing mainly Karnaprayag metavolcanics (rocks)and interbedded quartzites (type of rocks) are exposed between Karnaprayag and Begali. Higher Himalayan Almora Group of rocks are predominantly exposed in the eastern sector of the area we studied," said Dr Anbalagan.
IIT researchers found that roads made on slopes in Uttarakhand are highly unstable and are prone to cause damage to human lives with landslides. "From the stability analysis and field observations, it is clear that the slopes are unstable and are still in active state of instability. Even the newly constructed houses just above the crown show cracks on the walls. Several prominent open ground cracks were seen in the upper parts of slide area as well as on the slopes close to the road," said Dr Anbalagan.
The Karnaprayag-Gwaldam field investigations also revealed that the toe erosion of slope by the Pindar river was a significant factor in inducing instability. Taking into consideration the nature of instability, type of slope materials and slope geometry, IIT researchers suggested a set of control measures that may help to improve the overall stability of the slopes.
Stability analysis
"We collected the field samples and tested in the laboratory for their shear strength. The stability analysis through tests indicated that the slopes are just stable under dry conditions and on water saturation the slopes become unstable. A set stability measures have been suggested, including construction of retaining walls and other related measures. The designs of all these measures have also been provided for implementation on the ground," he said.
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