Landslides in the city

June 24: The soil conservation department will use jute geo-textiles for the first time on hill slopes to arrest landslides.

Divisional officer, south bank soil conservation division of the soil conservation department, Jiten Malakar, said nearly 1.8 hectares, that is 30 per cent of the slopes, would be netted with jute on the hills in the areas of Kharghuli, Silpukhuri, Chandmari and Jyoti Nagar.

A sum of Rs 25 lakh has been sanctioned through the calamity relief fund for undertaking this innovative measure. Heavy rains in the city often leads to landslides and subsequent casualties.

The department will use jute as it is commonly available in comparison with coir, which is also expensive and not that popular.

“Jute geo-textile, when used on the exposed slopes and bare soil, reduces the eroding ability of the soil and restrains the progressive detachment and transport of soil particles due to the rain splash and flow of water along the slope, reducing soil loss,” Malakar said.

The official said innumerable nallahs from the hills are draining into the city areas, carrying huge amount of silt during the rainy season.

Gunny bags filled with earth and supported with bamboo on the sides will be raised across these drains as silt-trapping measures, mainly in the Nabagraha Hills.

“The application of jute geo-textiles stimulates growth of vegetation and enhances roughness of the soil surface which helps reduce the velocity of water-flow over it,” Malakar said. “This will also help us know the problems of application of jute geo-textiles and if required, we can make some variations,” he added.

The city has been lashed with heavy rainfall and most of the areas were waterlogged.

The department will also take up repairs after floods. It is constructing boulder spurs on the banks of Basistha-Bahini at Ganesh Nagar in the city. The spurs help arrest erosion.

The official said the soil conservation department can look at the flood problem with a holistic outlook as the organisation has experts from different fields, unlike the flood control department which mainly comprises engineers.