Answer the following questions in not more than 125 words.

Identify the Landslide-prone regions of India and suggest some measures to

mitigate the disasters caused by these.

Landsides are a major natural disaster in India, causing massive damage to life and property in the country. The following areas are most prone to landslides:

• Very Highly Vulnerable areas: Himalayas, young mountains of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, high rainfall areas in Nilgiris and Western Ghats.

• Highly Vulnerable areas: Himalayan states and north-east India.

• Moderate to Low Vulnerable areas: Aravalis, Ladakh region of Himalayas, rain shadow areas of the Ghats.

Mitigation:

• Restriction on developmental activities viz. construction of roads, dams etc.

• Limiting agriculture to valleys.

• Promoting afforestation of slopes

• Terrace farming should replace shifting cultivation in north-eastern Himalayas.