THE construction of settlements at the foot or on the slope of hills without proper planning, the cutting of hills and the felling of trees on or around the hills are three major reasons for landslide that leaves people dead every year. Experts sound warnings almost every year. The authorities responsible for preventing such disasters all know this. Yet, landslides happen almost every year. The government lifts its finger a bit when a major landslide happens. But, everything gets back to square one when the discussions die down. Landslide in the district headquarters of Cox鈥檚 Bazar has left four people, living in houses erected at the foot of the hills, dead. A 13-year-old girl died in landslide at Kalatali Saikat Para at night on July 11. A woman and a boy died in another such incident in the Sikdar Bazar area. And, a woman died in yet another such incident at Jilangia July 11. All the incidents took place in the district headquarters. Two died in landslide in a Rohingya camp at Ukhia in the district on July 3. A couple died in a similar incident in the district headquarters on June 20 and 10 died in landslide in a Rohingya camp on June 19.
Reports say that most of the houses that crumbled down because of landslide were either set up on the slope of the hills or erected at the foot of the hills. With a torrential rainfall that submerged many areas, it is only natural that hills cut dangerously risky and denuded of most of the trees would cave in, causing fatal accidents. But what is highly unnatural is the indifference of the authorities to such accidents even after they keep happening year after year, killing and injuring people. While it is entirely not true that landslide, caused by rainfall that adds to the mass increasing the gravity, by flooding, storms, earthquakes or proximate construction that disturbs the soil, can happen every day, it is important, for the government and for people living down the hill slopes or in close proximity of hills, to not live in complete denial either. Natural forces 鈥� gravity, rainfall, earthquake or storm 鈥� may never change, but human factors that can cause landslide such as deforestation, change in the landscape, earth-moving from hills, overgrazing and building settlements very well remain. The administration comes out of its slumber whenever such disasters take place, but the efforts fizzle out as days roll on.
The government must, therefore, have a comprehensive hill management plan, which should include a policy for erecting houses on the slope, at the foot of hills or around the hills conforming to the ecology of the region, to mitigate landslide disasters. The government must stop the exploitation of the nature and bring to justice all responsible for causing damage to the hills by earth-moving or felling trees, said to be done by people politically and financially powerful.
