Devastation in Shimla Need for a Comprehensive and Holistic Policy

Widespread devastation was caused in several parts of Himachal Pradesh due to spells of heavy rains, cloud bursts, and landslides this monsoon. Shimla, the capital town saw the kind of havoc caused by rain fury as never seen before. 

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While climate change may be attributed to spells of heavy downpours that set off landslides, is it the reckless and unscientific construction, poor drainage system to blame for the devastation caused in terms of loss of life, roads, buildings and forests? Sarita Brara says a holistic strategy factoring in natural as well as human-induced causes that led to the disaster is perhaps the need of the hour.

Who could have thought that a 54-hour heavy downpour would leave the tourist town of Shimla battered and bruised to the extent that people would dread the very mention of the word ‘rains’. Shimla received 171.8 mm of rainfall between August 13 and 14, 2023. On August 23rd, once again, 132 mm of rainfall was recorded. It was the intensity of the rains during this heavy downpour that triggered landslides at several locations, causing the kind of havoc Shimla had never experienced in living memory. The deluge from massive landslide triggered by these rains at the outer edge of the lawns of the Institute of Advanced Studies flowed down with such a force that it uprooted dozens of trees on the way, washed away a 50-metre railway bridge, portions of two roads and most unfortunately took the precious lives of 20 people who had gathered at a temple for prayers on the morning of August 14.