The fear of the land sinking is now lingering on Himachal Pradesh’s Mcleod Ganj, similar to Uttarakhand’s Joshimath. The reason behind this threat is the illegal constructions carried out by people, flouting the rules of the municipal corporation. Due to the illegal construction, most of the buildings there are swinging on steep slopes, and are adjacent to each other. Experts have warned that the buildings built in the Mcleod Ganj region can collapse like a deck of cards in case of high intensity earthquakes.
Also, the Dharamshala region is highly sensitive as far as earthquake vulnerability is concerned. There is thrust around Dharamshala, which means that there are chances of the region being hit by tremors from three directions. Regarding this matter, Head of Department, Geology, Central University, Professor Ambarish Kumar Mahajan has said that there is no solution for drainage or sewage systems in Mcleod Ganj, and the problem will persist till a solution is found.
Professor Mahajan added that in Dharamshala, some regions like Mcleod Ganj and Bhagsu Nag are landslide zones, and this situation has emerged here because of the drainage system not being right. If the drainage system were right here, this problem would not have emerged. Whenever a multi-story building is constructed, the load on the land increases, which in turn, increases the chances of it slipping. Mahajan stated that some places in Shimla too fall under the landslide zone.
In Shimla as well, there are many multi-story buildings, which is a sign of danger. He added how Joshimath-like circumstances can arise in Shimla too.
It is noteworthy that back in 1905, 20 thousand people had lost their lives in the Kangra region because of an earthquake. An earthquake had hit a region near Dharamshala on Saturday morning only, which had an intensity of 3.2 on the Richter scale.
