• S. H. Chitre

Malin is a small, insignificant village in Ambegaon Taluka of Pune district, Maharashtra located at an elevation of 619 metres above mean sea level, 19ᵒ9’40” N latitude and 73ᵒ41’18” E longitude. It came into light on 30th July, 2014 due to a landslide which occurred in the early morning hours which was believed to be caused by a burst of heavy rainfall and killed at least 151 residents of the village. The landslide was first noticed by a bus driver who drove by the area and saw the village had been overrun by mud and earth. The environmental destruction that resulted in the massive landslide is believed to have many causes. Deforestation has been cited as the foremost cause. The location of Malin is on the eastern slope of a North-South trending hill and the slope can be divided into roughly four zones between 10ᵒ to 40ᵒ gradient. Forests have been traditionally known to stabilize hill slopes by holding the soil together and increasing the infiltration while cutting down the run-off of water. The Malin landslide is typically a mudflow where debris overridden with rainwater flows downhill under influence of gravity and is associated with heavy rainfall. The immediate cause of the landslide was also attributed to a low pressure trough which had developed over the Arabian sea and had caused continuous heavy rainfall for more than 24 hours before the actual event. Deforestation along with faulty agricultural practices destabilized the slope and the rainwater infiltrated to a crucial depth where the top soil layer moved under the influence of gravity. The traditional rice cultivation allowed the water to flow downhill without obstructions. But recently wheat cultivation is started which required terracing and levelling of the slopes. Therefore, the water accumulated on the slopes and infiltrated to a depth to which it caused the slope to destabilize. The construction of Dimbhe dam has also been considered to be the cause of slope instability. Stone quarrying in the region for construction activity has exposed the deeper rock beds to weathering and mass wasting. The landslide of Malin has many lessons for the future wherein such incidences can be avoided with proper planning, slope management techniques and rainfall monitoring.

Landslides, Mudflows, Slope instability, Mass wasting, Deforestation, Slope management techniques

"THE LANDSLIDE THREATS IN MAHARASHTRA: LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM THE MALIN LANDSLIDE", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no.163-166, May-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIRCB06025.pdf

"THE LANDSLIDE THREATS IN MAHARASHTRA: LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM THE MALIN LANDSLIDE", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no. pp163-166, May-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIRCB06025.pdf