Living on the edge: How reckless habitation on hilly areas in Mumbai make them prone to landslides
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According to the state disaster cell’s official figures, nearly 290 people died in landslide-related incidents in Mumbai between 1990 and 2021.
The July 19 landslide in Irshalwadi of Raigad district that claimed 84 lives in July became a stark reminder of the ecological threats in the Western Ghats. However, Mumbai is not very different as hills and ridges where stone quarries were once functional make the city susceptible to landslide-related incidents every monsoon.
While no major catastrophic incident has been reported in the past two years, in 2021, 32 people lost their lives in a series of landslides in Chembur and Vikhroli in the suburbs.
According to the state disaster cell’s official figures, nearly 290 people died in landslide-related incidents in Mumbai between 1990 and 2021. At present, nearly one lakh people live in these high-risk landslide prone areas. There are 299 landslide-prone areas in Mumbai and these places include hillocks and ridges with varying heights between 150 and 200 metres.
