In the wake of a huge landslip on Monday morning that left almost 20 people buried inside a temple in…
IIAS building, Shimla (Photo: Facebook)
In the wake of a huge landslip on Monday morning that left almost 20 people buried inside a temple in Summer Hill in Shimla, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla, has written to the Union Ministry of Education and the local authorities demanding a risk assessment of the complex.
The institute’s walled pathway and numerous deodar trees immediately in front of the lawns were destroyed by the landslip, which appears to have started from the edge of the institute’s outer lawns. The IIAS has sent a letter to the authorities requesting risk analysis and preventative steps for the complex’s safety. The State Disaster Management Authority and the Meteorological Department representatives also paid the location a visit.
To prevent water seepage into the muddy region affected by the slide, the IIAS covered the edge of the outer lawns with plastic sheets. The landslide’s force was so great that it tore up parts of two roads and a substantial amount of the Shimla-Kalka heritage railway track before destroying the temple, which was located some 700–800 metres below the IIAS.
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Near the main building on the property, a road is also sinking. The landslip occurrence has made the authorities apprehensive even though it has been sinking for some time. The insider explained, “We are changing the flow of the water on the road to make sure it doesn’t flow towards the sinking side.
Although it’s widely accepted that a cloudburst caused the landslip, weather agency sources disagree. They claim that neither the amount of rain nor the size of the effect area was as high as would be expected during a cloudburst.
Despite the widespread belief that the landslip was caused by a cloudburst, weather department officials disagree. Neither the amount of rain nor the size of the impact area, in their opinion, was as intense as would be expected during a cloudburst.
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