Disaster in waiting

This summer, in the hill station of Nainital, a portion of  the lower mall road connecting tallital to mallital caved in . In the last few years there have been other such incidents including substantial landslides.

There was a time when no automobiles were permitted into the city  beyond the Tallital bus and taxi stop . There was a time when there were strict building construction regulations in place. These were meant to save the fragile hills of the city from damage. These regulations need reimplementation.

Only e- rikshawa should be permitted  inside the city. Further construction activities need also to be stopped to save it from a disaster similar to the catastrophe of 1880  when devastating landslides  destroyed buildings and claimed hundreds of lives.

Sher-ka-Danda ridge, a densely populated area with houses, commercial properties like hotels and shops, government offices, schools, is particularly at risk of a major landslide. Recent studies have warned of a disaster in waiting.