The New Nation - Internet Edition

LANDSLIDE has struck again claiming at least fourteen lives including three women and five children. The tragic incident took place on Monday morning at Motijharna slums on the slope of the Batali Hills in the port city of Chittagong. Large chunks of soil rolled down from a height of 10 to 12 metres smashing huts below. Eleven of the victims were buried alive in their sleep while another succumbed to his injury on way to a hospital. Slightly over a year ago, at least 128 people died in big landslides at some spots in the port city.

Landslide occurs in hilly areas especially where hills are made up of loose sandy soil without hard rock base. Such hills at times cannot withstand heavy rainfall or jolts of earthquakes. But human intervention in the hills seems to have increased the frequency of such incidents. Hill grabbing and cutting is widespread in the Chittagong region. As a result of the cutting of the natural base, the hills lose stability and fail to withstand heavy load of soil at the top. The topsoil of the hills in Chittagong become soft, lose compactness due to heavy rainfall and slide down the slopes. Landslide appears to occur at places where bases of hills are cut.

Following the landslide last year, differnt quarters had urged the authorities to stop cutting of hills. The government should immediately order a survey to see the condition of the remaining hills and take measures to stabilise them, if possible. People living in the risky zones should be shifted to safer places to avoid further loss of life and property. Hills maintain ecological balance and give protection against natural calamities and should be protected by all means.