Friday | 17 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Friday | 17 January 2025 | Epaper

Landslide: Is there no remedy?

Published : Sunday, 18 June, 2017 at 12:00 AM  Count : 454
Chinmay Prasun Biswas
Chittagong Hill Tracts is a combination of three districts -- Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari. The name CHTs itself is sufficient to indicate the geographical nature of the area that it is place of hills. Not only CHTs but Chittagong and Cox's Bazar districts are also known as hilly areas. In fact, total Chittagong division is the only extensive hilly area in Bangladesh lying in south-eastern part of the country bordering with Myanmar on the southeast, two Indian states Tripura towards the north and Mizoram on the east.
Apart from beauty and diversity this area is also a place of devastating landslide, particularly in the rainy season. It causes death of people living on and around hills.
Recently, a landslide killed 158 lives. Not only in this year but it is a recurring tragedy for years together. Around 200 persons died from landslides during the period 2007 to 2016. Considering the nature and extent of casualties 11 hills were identified as extremely risky in Chittagong but no fruitful steps are taken to face the situation.
Administration, local authorities, police, fire brigade and others become alert and active at the advent of or in the rainy season. People are informed through but nothing yields any permanent result. Every year inquiry committees are formed after a disaster, probably they submit reports as usual but nothing changes.
After death of 127 persons in 2007 a committee formed under the Chairmanship of Divisional Commissioner of Chittagong submitted a report, identifying 28 reasons for landslide in hills and suggested 66 recommendations but all those are still lying in dusty files of concerned office  for last 10 years.
Apart from the geographical location we may peep into the geological nature of the hills of Chittagong area. Roughly speaking, hills in Chittagong region consist of sandy soil which is mixture of sand and soil which is weak in nature, not of stone.
Roots of trees and grass growing on these hills hold the surface apparently tight but due to continuous felling of trees the hills have turned treeless, rifts are being created on top and slope of hills. As a result heavy rain makes the surface loose, soil melts, sand gets removed, and rifts widen which cause inevitable landslide claiming loss of lives of human beings and animals, destruction of wealth, disruption of communication, power failure and so on.
Government is the owner of hills, canals, rivers, ocean, forest and underground resources. No private ownership is allowed. There are 7 hills in Chittagong under the ownership of 6 government departments. But occupying these hills illegally some vicious circles are earning huge amount of money from there. Owners of these hills are sometimes helpless to the illegal occupiers.
Local people think that the illegal occupiers are always very influential but who are they?  Are they more powerful than government? It is known to almost all these grabbers are backed by the political power.
Land grabbers cut down trees and make building and slums for rent. Cutting trees are dominant reasons behind landslide in hills though it is totally banned as per law of the country. Even living on hills is also unlawful unless permitted by concerned authority. There are penal provisions for cutting and levelling hills but who cares? Everyday related laws are being violated before the eyes of administration and law enforcing authorities but there is no single record of any trial or punishment for violating law so far.
Housing on hills is another main factor behind the landslide. Due to the increase of population and gradually increasing demand of house people are compelled to live on hills. As surface of these hills are weak, light materials such as bamboo, wood, branches of trees are used for constructing houses. As a result these houses are naturally vulnerable and easily collapsible at the time of landslide.
Disaster management is necessary but in this case more important is to remove the reasons of disaster. Natural reasons behind landslide in hills can't be removed but reasons caused by man can be handled through proper application of existing laws. People should not be allowed to live on hills.
As people of low income group look for house at a lesser rent a vicious circle take advantage of this pressing need of those poor class people. Ignoring law and showing thumb to authorities they construct houses on hills and getting the opportunity to live at low cost poor people also avail it knowing well or being unaware of the risk of life. Demand and supply theory is very much effective here because necessity knows no law. As there is demand of low cost houses to poor people those vicious circles meet the demand throwing them towards continuous threat of death.
For the purpose of eviction and rehabilitation local administration of Chittagong identified around 700 families living on hills but actual figure is believed to be much more because many families do not want to be identified and evicted. They were evicted by the administration and were temporarily rehabilitated at other places but they are always reluctant to stay there (rehabilitated place) and after a few days they again come back to their earlier abode on hills. As a result all efforts of government turn into failure and procession of death on hills never stops, rather it becomes longer every year.
Most urgent remedy is to stop cutting hills, felling trees and building houses thereon but who will do it? Illegal occupiers of hills are socially powerful and they do not reside there. In fact they do it for earning money illegally without caring for lives of the hill dwellers.
Other than natural reason most of the problems are created by man resulting from endless greed. It may be called killing by cutting hills but the remedy is neither tough nor impossible. Awareness among people is also necessary but simply awareness is never sufficient, strict enforcement of law is also needed.
People, political personalities, public representatives, administrative officials, local authorities, NGOs, social workers should come forward to address the situation together with appropriate   technology. There is no time to waste.

Chinmay Prasun Biswas, Commissioner of Taxes (Rtd)





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