#Ajayan | A survey of the landslide that ravaged villages Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Vellarimala in Meppadi panchayat of Wayanad in the wee hours of June 30 unmistakably reveals the fragility of the land. The region, prone to nature’s fury, is no place for construction of any kind, eminent geologist CP Rajendran of the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru and Director of the Consortium for Sustainable Development in Connecticut, USA. Such reckless endeavours must never be allowed to desecrate this perilous terrain again, he asserted in a chat with Metro Vaartha, immediately after his visit to the affected areas last week.
He envisions a single, cataclysmic landslide, birthed atop the hill around 1 am, as the silent architect of the disaster. This colossal flow, in its descent, gathered boulders and debris, amassing them in such numbers that it formed something like a natural ‘dam’ or an ominous barricade of earth and stone. With each passing hour, the pressure mounted, silently and relentlessly, until the heap could bear no more. Around 4-5 am, it gave way with a fury so fierce that what some misinterpreted as a second landslip was, in truth, the heap’s shattering release. The sheer energy unleashed by the downflow was unstoppable, sweeping everything in its path, houses, buildings and dreams alike, leaving behind a trail of devastation downstream. It was a brutal testament to nature's raw power, explaining the unparalleled destruction left in its wake.
A closer look at the landscape reveals that scars of the haunting aftermath of the Puthumala landslide on August 9, 2019, still linger. These remnants stand as silent witnesses to the perilous fragility of the terrain. Despite the stark warnings carved into the earth by the Puthumala disaster, it is disheartening, almost tragic, to acknowledge that no meaningful steps were taken to prevent another catastrophe. And so, five years later, fate repeated its cruel show, allowing devastation to strike once more, he observes.
Rajendran points out that the once-thriving landscapes of Wayanad have been slowly rendered uninhabitable due to relentless and unscientific human interference. The sprawling plantations, unchecked constructions coming up across river floodplains and the unbridled quarrying have all woven a tapestry of destruction. Each act of exploitation, he notes, has chipped away at the delicate balance of this land.
This historical disaster has turned into an environmental issue. The long-ago march of deforestation, carried out to carve space for sprawling plantations, has left behind a trail of destruction that lingers to this day. As the plantations claimed vast stretches of land, people were left with no choice but to build their homes and livelihoods on the fragile river floodplains. These vulnerable areas, never meant to cradle such burdens, became unwilling hosts to human settlements. Even the ill-fated school, swept away in the landslide's fury, stood upon one such precarious expanse.
On the issue of early warning, he said soil conservationist PU Das through the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology in Kalpetta had forewarned of the disaster a full 16 hours in advance. But for the local self-Government representatives in the area who responded, the district administration did not take it seriously and it was a serious flaw on their part, he added.
Mundakkai, like many regions in Wayanad, falls within the "extremely ecologically sensitive zone", as delineated by the Madhav Gadgil Committee. Reflecting on the path forward, Rajendran notes that while this disaster is undeniably tragic, it serves as a crucial wake-up call to rethink the entire development paradigm, based on fresh land use planning. A comprehensive mapping of the region to identify these vulnerable red zones, accompanied by detailed soil studies and providing prior warnings needs to happen. It has to be ensured that human interference is kept far from these delicate ecosystems. A groundswell should make the authorities and political parties think positively, he says.
In a world grappling with the undeniable realities of climate change, eco-friendly development isn’t just an option, but an imperative. As the rehabilitation of those who have lost the very foundations of their lives begins, this new, sustainable vision should guide every step forward, ensuring that what is rebuilt stands in harmony with nature, not in defiance of it.
