Year of landslides, heavy rain and floods

2024 witnessed major environmental issues like landslides, heavy rainfall and floods, while man-animal conflicts, crop damage and pollution too made noise.

- SUBHASH CHANDRA NS @ Hubballi

The coastal region and Western Ghats witnessed heavy rainfall during the year, causing almost all rivers to reach danger marks. While the plains witnessed floods, the Ghats saw landslides, even as coastal areas struggled with increasing sea erosion.

The most severe of eco-disasters this year was the landslide at Shirur in Ankola in Uttara Kannada in July. Seven people and a couple of trucks were buried under mounds of earth when an entire hillock caved in. It was so severe that mud crossed river Gangavalli and buried houses on the other side. Experts concluded that it was a man-made disaster, pointing to unscientific cutting of the hill to build the road by the road construction company.