Guwahati: A predawn shower triggered a landslide in Geetanagar on Sunday, but no injuries were reported.The city received 25.9 mm of rain. At Anupam Path, rain loosened a concrete road slab, which broke away and stopped metres from a house.It was the fifth rain-triggered incident in the city in a month, after landslides in Maligaon, Khanapara, Kharguli and Basistha. Officials said expanding habitation and rampant hill cutting made several hilly areas increasingly vulnerable.“Earth-cutting activities causing landslides are prohibited from April to Sept, and despite this, if landslides occur, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) takes proactive action. Action can also be taken against any form of unauthorised earth-cutting. However, the administration has certain limitations, as it is not possible to inspect every area at short intervals. That is why we remain open to feedback from the public and encourage them to do so,” a district administration official said.The ASDMA has identified 366 landslide-prone areas in Kamrup Metro district, but Geetanagar Hill is not on the list. Officials said agencies were working to identify previously undocumented vulnerable areas.Residents alleged that a govt department undertook work during an unsuitable period.“We are just residents. We have been demanding roads for a long time, but carrying out work at such a time, when the area is particularly vulnerable, is a concern. Our hands were tied, as the engineers work according to their expertise. Now that such an incident has occurred, we all witnessed it during the morning hours,” resident Nabin Kumar Das said.
