Himachal: Bilaspur landslide revives painful memories of 2017 Kotrupi tragedy

Shimla, Oct 8 (PTI) The massive landslide that hit a private bus in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district killing 16 people has revived painful memories of the 2017 Kotrupi tragedy and Nigulsari incident of 2021.

While the Kotrupi landslide in Mandi district had claimed 48 lives, a total of 28 people were killed in the Nigulsari landslide in Kinnaur district.

On Tuesday, a huge portion of a mountain gave way and fell on the moving bus in the Bhalughat area near Berthin in Bilaspur district, burying the vehicle under the debris. While 15 bodies were pulled out from the debris by Tuesday night, a child's body was found on Wednesday morning.

Four people of a family including two women and two children were among the deceased.

Such incidents serve as stark reminders of the vulnerability of state's hilly areas to landslides. According to a central government's report on Spatial Distribution and Concentration of Landslides released in 2003, nearly 97.42 per cent of the total geographical area of Himachal is prone to landslide.

All districts in the state have over 90 per cent area prone to landslide, except Una where it is about 80 per cent. Moreover, in the severe landslide hazard risk category, Kullu district with 33.70 per cent tops the list, followed by Chamba 33.28 per cent, Solan 29.11 per cent, Mandi 25.01 per cent, Bilaspur 18.91 per cent, Shimla 17.79 per cent and Kinnaur 13.73 per cent.

On August 13, 2017, incessant rainfall had triggered a massive landslide on the Mandi-Pathankot National Highway near Kotrupi village in Mandi district, killing 48 people.

The landslide buried homes, vehicles, and two Himachal Road Transport Corporation buses that had briefly halted at a roadside kiosk for refreshments.

Similarly, on August 11, 2021, 28 people were killed and 13 sustained injuries in Nigulsari when a massive landslide hit several vehicles, including a truck and 42-seater HRTC bus on its way from Reckong Peo in Kinnaur to Shimla. The incident was reported by the bus driver, who was seriously injured.

On July 25, 2021, a landslide hit a tourist vehicle near Batsari in Kinnaur district, killing nine persons.

During the monsoon season from June 1 to September 30 this year, a total of 54 people have died in 148 major landslides in the state. PTI BPL KVK KVK