Speaker 1: In today's episode, we look at why Odisha's coastline is
Speaker 1: steadily eroding and what that means for communities living along
Speaker 1: the shore. We also talk about a major organizational reshuffle
Speaker 1: in the BJP, where one of the clearest themes running
Speaker 1: is the BJP's attempt to expand the presence of women
Speaker 1: and younger leaders. But first we talk about Mumbai, where
Speaker 1: a deadly landslide last week raised a troubling question, could
Speaker 1: this disaster have been avoided? Hi, I'm Atchasharma and you're
Speaker 1: listening to three Things the Indian Express new show. Last week,
Speaker 1: on Wedness Day, a hillside in Kulla collapsed after heavy rain,
Speaker 1: killing eight people. And when we spoke to the Indian
Speaker 1: Expresses Pratipa Charia, he told us that this had been
Speaker 1: hill number three.
Speaker 2: And a people tree at the hilltop. It collapsed, It
Speaker 2: got uprooted and it collapsed, bringing down like all the stones,
Speaker 2: the boulders and the loose mud, the soil, everything that father.
Speaker 2: It brought everything crashing, the houses that were built and
Speaker 2: the kind of on the slopes of that hill.
Speaker 1: And so when the landslide took place around four houses,
Speaker 1: he says got crushed under the debris. Now, the documents
Speaker 1: reviewed by the Indian Express show that the Geological Survey
Speaker 1: of India had worn the BMC about this very risk
Speaker 1: back in twenty eighteen. In the four hundred and thirty
Speaker 1: five page long risk assessment, the GSI had identified Kurla
Speaker 1: as one of Mumbai's five major landslide risk zones and
Speaker 1: it specifically flagged Hill number three at Sakinaka as highly vulnerable,
Speaker 1: essentially pointing to steep slopes, jointed rock, water population and
Speaker 1: root penetration, almost the same combination of factors that appeared
Speaker 1: to have triggered last week's collapse. Understand why exactly were
Speaker 1: the report's recommendations not implemented and what does this highlight
Speaker 1: about Mumbai's preparedness for landslides. We speak to protep in
Speaker 1: this segment. With this GSI report from eight years ago,
Speaker 1: we understand effectively predicted this landslide almost word for word.
Speaker 1: Talk about how closely did it match the incident.
Speaker 2: So it was a risk assessment report that was carried
Speaker 2: out by surveying like around seventy four landslide prone regions
Speaker 2: in Mumbai. And in that report, this hill number three
Speaker 2: that I just said, one that collapsed, I mean the
Speaker 2: portion of which crashed was identified as a highly vulnerable
Speaker 2: landslide zone. I mean the region around that periphery of
Speaker 2: that hill, the slopes where the housing units had come
Speaker 2: up and the shanties are growing, So those areas were
Speaker 2: considered as heavily vulnerable towards landslide incidents. So the JSI
Speaker 2: Units report had said that considering the steep slope, there
Speaker 2: is also results of rock mass and the root of
Speaker 2: the trees have penetrated deep into the soil, so there
Speaker 2: is a possibility of rock falling posing a direct threat
Speaker 2: to the life of the people who are living around,
Speaker 2: living in settlements around the slope of the hill, and
Speaker 2: told the BMC to implement immediate remedial action, which included,
Speaker 2: you know, stopping of construction walks around the hill slopes,
Speaker 2: not allowing any kind of development over there, constructing drains
Speaker 2: over there, because often you know, what happens during the rains,
Speaker 2: the rainwater SIPs inside the soil, making them loose and
Speaker 2: making them more prone towards you know, landslide. So the
Speaker 2: GSI had instructed the BMC to implement these remedial measures. However,
Speaker 2: till the Tiothang, they were yet to be implemented.
Speaker 1: And what's striking is that this wasn't the only warning.
Speaker 1: The site was again identified as a priority in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty three. And you note how a crator says he
Speaker 1: raised concerns just three months ago. So basically there were
Speaker 1: repeated opportunities to intervene before these eight deaths. So why
Speaker 1: was it not done?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So, like you rightly said, the place was identified
Speaker 2: by JSI mark classified by JSA as a highly vulnerable
Speaker 2: zone and it was again in twenty twenty three that
Speaker 2: it was the BMC had included like five years after that,
Speaker 2: the BMC had included it in a list of priority
Speaker 2: places where retaining wall needs to be constructed. But however,
Speaker 2: in Mumbai, like the BMC is the municipal corporation, but
Speaker 2: this lands where the illegal encroachments around the slope of
Speaker 2: the hills come up, and these are owned by the
Speaker 2: Collector's office, the Mumbai District Collector and the responsibility of
Speaker 2: building walls over there or kind of implementing this preventive
Speaker 2: measures fall under the MADA, which is the Maharashtra Housing
Speaker 2: and Area Development Authority and the slum Rehabilitation Authorities so
Speaker 2: these two agencies carry out area development of certain pockets
Speaker 2: and development of regions where some pockets are located, so
Speaker 2: there's special planning agencies. So basically the thing is there
Speaker 2: is a lot of redtipism that is involved because there
Speaker 2: are multiple agencies. So if MADA is supposed to carry
Speaker 2: out build a wall over there, they need to take
Speaker 2: permission from the Collector's office, and since there are slums
Speaker 2: also that they have to have need to have an
Speaker 2: NC from the SIRE which is summ Rehabilitation Authority. So
Speaker 2: now if BMC wants to go there and construct those walls,
Speaker 2: they need have to have permission from the MADA. They
Speaker 2: need to have to have permission from the Collector's office
Speaker 2: and the state government. So there are multiple governments that
Speaker 2: are involved for building just one wall, since there are
Speaker 2: multiple agencies by multiple land parcels. So that is why
Speaker 2: there is a huge relatetipism that is involved for which
Speaker 2: many of these works get stalled or get delayed all right.
Speaker 1: And we understand that more than four hundred crow rupees
Speaker 1: were allotted by the Maharashtra government between twenty twenty and
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three for this very reason. Like preventive landslide
Speaker 1: measures statewide. However, of shoall say plans were drawn up
Speaker 1: but eventually slowed because of funding. So how do we
Speaker 1: read that.
Speaker 2: So the government Between twenty twenty twenty twenty three, the
Speaker 2: government had allocated a substantial amount of four hundred crores
Speaker 2: for carrying out these preempty measures which included building, retaining,
Speaker 2: wall fixing, protective nets and everything. However, the records, the
Speaker 2: government records show that even the funds were allocated, the
Speaker 2: process of release of funds had slowed down after twenty
Speaker 2: one or twenty two, which means like in the first
Speaker 2: year between twenty three twenty four like around three hundred
Speaker 2: and two crore works were taken up and the next
Speaker 2: year around two hundred and thirty like of which three
Speaker 2: hundred works were completed. So in twenty twenty four twenty
Speaker 2: five around one hundred and thirteen works were completed and
Speaker 2: between twenty five and twenty six only sixteen works were completed.
Speaker 2: So which means like around like more than three hundred
Speaker 2: landslide prones in Mumbai are there where no safety works
Speaker 2: have happened over the past five six.
Speaker 1: Years and redeb As you mentioned earlier that the GSI
Speaker 1: assessed seventy four landslide prone pockets across Mumbai. So after
Speaker 1: what happened here, how many other places in the city
Speaker 1: have already been identified as dangerous but are still waiting
Speaker 1: for mitigation work.
Speaker 2: So the BMC had given the GSI a list of
Speaker 2: two hundred and ninety nine places off which they had
Speaker 2: evaluated and shortlisted seventy four places for carrying out evaluation.
Speaker 2: And these seventy four places have been identified as landslide
Speaker 2: zone prone zones. Most of the are are located in
Speaker 2: the eastern part of the city since these places have
Speaker 2: a lot of regions, lots of cliffs and everything. So
Speaker 2: they are in Purla, Bando, Vicro League, Hardcoper, Tunabat. So
Speaker 2: these are the areas.
Speaker 1: And we often described these events as landslides caused by
Speaker 1: heavy rain, but you highlight how rain may only be
Speaker 1: the final trigger. So how much of the underlying risk
Speaker 1: is actually created by the way hillsides are built upon
Speaker 1: and rain.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so these housing units no residential structures, they are
Speaker 2: built in the on the slopes of these hills. So
Speaker 2: these slopes are you know, they're slanting, they are kind
Speaker 2: of aligned vertically, and what people do know the increases,
Speaker 2: they start cutting those slopes. And when you are cutting
Speaker 2: the slopes, you are altering the topography. So the overall
Speaker 2: soil mass that is present there, the overall that the stones,
Speaker 2: they get altered. So whenever it gets altered, there is
Speaker 2: a imbalance in the overall geological surface of Earth. Then
Speaker 2: there are trees, so the trees can't hold the soil together,
Speaker 2: so whenever there is a rain, and also people build
Speaker 2: toilets over this is they're living there and there is
Speaker 2: no drains, so the water flow like openly, and when
Speaker 2: there is open floor water, there is also seepage of
Speaker 2: water underneath the ground. This also makes the soil much
Speaker 2: more loose. So whenever there is a rain, these trees
Speaker 2: that already have deep roots penetrated around the ground, and
Speaker 2: when the ground is so shallow, they can't hold onto
Speaker 2: the bay.
Speaker 3: And there are.
Speaker 2: Rocks also over there, there are soils also other they
Speaker 2: can hold onto the surface, and they collapse whenever there
Speaker 2: is a rain because the water keeps falling from there
Speaker 2: is also heavy wind blowing. So all these incident aggravates
Speaker 2: and they just like it's like a final trigger, like
Speaker 2: you rightly said.
Speaker 1: And if authorities know that certain slopes are highly vulnerable,
Speaker 1: why are settlements still allowed to stay and sometimes even
Speaker 1: expand in these locations.
Speaker 2: So basically we know, like Mumbai is a very long
Speaker 2: historym and these hills were used to be earlier. There's
Speaker 2: stone quarries. So then people started migrating to Mumbai during
Speaker 2: the nineteen fifty most indupendous actually, and there were like
Speaker 2: this place is where ever and there is to be
Speaker 2: a lot of people used to get open land, is
Speaker 2: to grab landers set uppartments over there. So like you
Speaker 2: will see that these are kind of vertical slumps like
Speaker 2: houses are built one above another, because Mumbai is a
Speaker 2: vertical city, like since it is surrounded by other sea
Speaker 2: from three sides, the horizontal size of land is very less.
Speaker 2: And since there are this hills present here, people start
Speaker 2: encouraging these slopes of the hills. That is why this
Speaker 2: number of slums start going up.
Speaker 1: And what do we know about the people living in
Speaker 1: these areas and also those who unfortunately lost their lives
Speaker 1: in this landslide.
Speaker 2: So most of these people who lost their lives, they
Speaker 2: had come from the Pradesh, like they are migrant workers
Speaker 2: who moved to the city for better life to work.
Speaker 2: So there is a family of four who lost their
Speaker 2: lives because they had just shifted to them at two
Speaker 2: days back. They had taken like house over there on
Speaker 2: rend and they had come to Mumbai for to start
Speaker 2: a new life. And the family was a father, a mother,
Speaker 2: like husband and wife along with the two children were
Speaker 2: two and four years old, and all the four members
Speaker 2: of the family died in that incident. Then there was
Speaker 2: another family like were two friends. One of them had
Speaker 2: their birthday on the night past minute. They were gathered
Speaker 2: at his place. Two celebrated his thirday birthday and he
Speaker 2: just got divorced the same year, so he got separated
Speaker 2: from his wife. So his friends were there to Chierima,
Speaker 2: so they were kind of like having a closed door
Speaker 2: kind of celebration of his birthday. When that incident happened
Speaker 2: in early morning and all of them over there, they
Speaker 2: lost their lives. So most of these people leave over
Speaker 2: there because in Mumbai has a very high housing rent
Speaker 2: and if you stay in these areas in the hillocks
Speaker 2: in the regions, the rent is very low. That is
Speaker 2: why most of the people who stay there are lower
Speaker 2: incongru families. They come from other parts of the country.
Speaker 2: They come from outside Mumbai just to find a living
Speaker 2: over there.
Speaker 1: And so now after eight deaths at a location, what
Speaker 1: effective landslide prevention measures are being carried out.
Speaker 2: We had Ashvini Beida in our office who is the
Speaker 2: Mumba Municipal Commissioner. She had come for an idea accents.
Speaker 2: So she told us that after the monsoon gets over,
Speaker 2: the BMC as well as a collector office, they will
Speaker 2: carry out a joint inspection and they will acknowledge this
Speaker 2: JSI report and they will take a survey of all
Speaker 2: the existing housing units that have been built in this
Speaker 2: vulnerable zone. They will carry out an assessment of how
Speaker 2: many of this mitigation plans that were recommended by GSI
Speaker 2: were implemented and whether they are being implemented properly. So
Speaker 2: they will carry out full stop ticking after the monsoon
Speaker 2: gets over. After that they will start issuing notices to
Speaker 2: those living there illegally and only after that they will
Speaker 2: start evicting. So the miserable Commission has clearly said that
Speaker 2: we'll first ask them to leave from the place on
Speaker 2: their own. If they fail to do so, then they
Speaker 2: will have to be evicted forcibly within by complying the
Speaker 2: rules and the regulations of the government.
Speaker 1: And next we talk about an issue that is impacting
Speaker 1: the lives and livelihoods of people in Dshia. A study
Speaker 1: conducted by the National Center for Coastal Research has shown
Speaker 1: that the coastline of Ordesha is eroding to a significant extent.
Speaker 1: The study, which mapped and assessed changes in the state's
Speaker 1: showline between nineteen ninety and twenty twenty two, found that
Speaker 1: several stretches of the coast have been steadily receding. Now
Speaker 1: this is concerning because coastal erosion can have serious consequences.
Speaker 1: It can increase the risk of flooding, damage homes and infrastructure,
Speaker 1: and even threaten the livelihoods of communities that depend on
Speaker 1: the coast. So far, at least six coastal districts, including
Speaker 1: gunjam Puri, Jagatsingpur, Kindrapada, Badharak and Balasur are facing significant
Speaker 1: shoreline changes and erosion. So why is Odisha's coastline shrinking,
Speaker 1: How is this affecting people living along the coast and
Speaker 1: what can be done to protect it. To understand this,
Speaker 1: Makalharkananda speaks to the Internet, expresses Sujit Bishoi in the
Speaker 1: segment Suji.
Speaker 4: What exactly is happening to Udisha's coastline, how is the
Speaker 4: shoreline changing and what are the factors driving this erosion?
Speaker 3: So niharika basically shore line changes, it's a dynamic process. Well,
Speaker 3: what it refers to is the boundary between the land
Speaker 3: and water shifts over time. And there are several factors
Speaker 3: what caused this shore line changes, Like there's some natural
Speaker 3: forces like high tides or waves storms from the sea
Speaker 3: that caused some time. Another reasons we can say like
Speaker 3: natural distice like tsunami or cyclones that is quite frequent
Speaker 3: in Orisa that has also caused shore line changes. As
Speaker 3: for studies. One more factor which is caused by human
Speaker 3: activities like construction of foods, jets or unplanned infrastructure development
Speaker 3: near the sea, rampant sand mining from the coast. So
Speaker 3: all these factors that contributed to shore line changes over
Speaker 3: the time, and it's a dynamic process. It doesn't happen overnight.
Speaker 3: It takes years to cause shore line changes.
Speaker 4: Right, and tell us about the NCCR study that address
Speaker 4: this problem.
Speaker 3: So National Science for Coastal Research that generally carried out
Speaker 3: assessment and mapping of shore line changes analysis along the
Speaker 3: coast across the country and it has done a study
Speaker 3: with concern to Orissa and the study was conducted during
Speaker 3: a period of nineteen ninety to twenty twenty two and
Speaker 3: the data came from a recent Rajasterbak questions. When the
Speaker 3: Union Minister of WoT Shippings and Water Wells ser one
Speaker 3: on the sun Wall. He responded query raised by Oorissa
Speaker 3: Rajasaba and PSAs Smith Patra about the impact of shore
Speaker 3: line changes or the coastal heros and and Oorissa as
Speaker 3: I said the NCSR monitors long term store line changes
Speaker 3: across Indian coastline, not just Orisa and this particular question
Speaker 3: was about Orisa. So citing the NCSA study, the Union
Speaker 3: Minister said that approximately twenty eight point three percent of
Speaker 3: Orissa's four four sixty five element coastline is affected by
Speaker 3: coastal resils and around seventeen point six persons remains stable
Speaker 3: with no significant shore line changes, while fifty four point
Speaker 3: one percent of total coastline is experiencing accretion of growth.
Speaker 4: And within Udisha, which are the areas that have been
Speaker 4: severely affected by coastal erosion.
Speaker 3: See there are six major coastal distates in Orisan and
Speaker 3: all six are affected by coastal regions for the nccstory.
Speaker 3: But if you'll say about most affected, I mean the
Speaker 3: impact of climate the c erosion or sore line changes
Speaker 3: has already been felt in the districts like Kindrapada which
Speaker 3: is a coastal dis states with around one hundred and
Speaker 3: fifty kilometers of coastline. And then Gonjam is also a
Speaker 3: major dis states where the issue which we are discussing
Speaker 3: now on the soore line changes of coastal erosion has
Speaker 3: its impact on the live and livelihoods of people living
Speaker 3: on the source.
Speaker 4: And how could this phenomena affect Udisha and the people
Speaker 4: living along its coastline well.
Speaker 3: As I said, see, there is a region in Kindrapadadic state.
Speaker 3: It's called satawaya region where because of coastal erosion and
Speaker 3: rising sea level, it has inundated submerged around sixteen villages,
Speaker 3: rendering hundreds of people's homeless. Wan more than a thousand
Speaker 3: people were displaced because of this coastallyrosion because it's rising
Speaker 3: sea level and the affected village not just lost their
Speaker 3: land because of this coastally region, but they also lost
Speaker 3: their livelihood although they were resettled by the government in
Speaker 3: a habitation kilometers away from the original land. But many
Speaker 3: people are struggling to get livelihood. So that is one
Speaker 3: kind of impact.
Speaker 2: We say.
Speaker 3: In Kendropadatic State, the government developed one resettlement colony that
Speaker 3: is attributed as India's first resettlement colony because of climate change.
Speaker 3: Resettlement colony I mean people affected by the climate change.
Speaker 3: It's in Bogapatia area and Kindropodatic State that is a
Speaker 3: coastal area located in a coastal region. Even we spoke
Speaker 3: to many of these people over the year since they
Speaker 3: were displaced because of this coastally resion. So many of
Speaker 3: the villagers who were traditionally fishermen, but now they lost
Speaker 3: their livelihood and many have migrated too far off states
Speaker 3: like Tamiladu, Kerala in Serfule livelihood. Also in Gonzami State.
Speaker 3: Why I said in twenty twenty three, I think we
Speaker 3: have covered one story. We visited one village. It's called
Speaker 3: podum Peta. It's in Guannjam north of Gunjam. So it
Speaker 3: was a village of around five hundred households two decades back,
Speaker 3: but now because of Bayo Bengals advance into the landmarks.
Speaker 3: The village is completely digitted. People were forced to leave
Speaker 3: the village. Now it's turned into a host village. There
Speaker 3: are other villages in Gunzam like Ramaya patnalso where people
Speaker 3: lost their homes the land mass because of advancing of
Speaker 3: the Bay of Bengal into the towards the land mass.
Speaker 4: Right and so gee, what can be done to prevent
Speaker 4: the coastline from getting eroded and are any measures being
Speaker 4: taken to do so?
Speaker 3: They are taking measures as far as we know. During
Speaker 3: our questions with the officials of the State Forest, Environment
Speaker 3: and the Climate Change Department, they said they have developed
Speaker 3: a geotextile tube embronment at Pronto village in Kindropodatic State
Speaker 3: where the sea has been making sweept advances towards the
Speaker 3: landmask so as geotextel tube is a concept that's a
Speaker 3: large cylindrical container made from high strength synthetic fabrics such
Speaker 3: as polypropylene and filled with sandsillary to form an artificial
Speaker 3: coastal structor what happens how it helps to I mean
Speaker 3: contain coastal relgions. That these tubes which are used to
Speaker 3: form sea walls generally absorb impact of webs when they
Speaker 3: heat the sort and help minimize erosion. Similarly, sea walls
Speaker 3: come serving roads are being developed across various parts of
Speaker 3: Balaslodic Street and in gun jams Rama Patna Beach and
Speaker 3: where this coastal region is quite deplorable. So these roads
Speaker 3: are used for dual purpose like the outer tier of
Speaker 3: his road sect as a defensive barrier against strong tidal
Speaker 3: waves and coastal region, while then operates as an operational
Speaker 3: roadway or service but for the people who are living
Speaker 3: along this sea coastline or for local transport.
Speaker 1: And in the end we talk about a major organizational
Speaker 1: reshuffle in the BJP where former Union minister Smithi Irani
Speaker 1: has returned to the party's central leadership. Ahmait Malvea has
Speaker 1: been removed as its social media convener and several younger
Speaker 1: and women leaders have been given prominent positions now. The
Speaker 1: changes come seven months after Nittin Nabin took over as
Speaker 1: BJP president and formed his new team of national office bearers.
Speaker 1: Among the most significant appointments is Smithi Irani, who returns
Speaker 1: as a National General Secretary. This is her first major
Speaker 1: organizational role since losing the mit Lok Sabha Sate in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four. Meanwhile, Ahmadha has also returned to the
Speaker 1: central organization as a vice president, while Union Commerce Minister
Speaker 1: push Goyl has been appointed party treasurer. Now. One of
Speaker 1: the clearest themes running through this reshuffle is the BJP's
Speaker 1: attempt to expand the presence of women and younger leaders.
Speaker 1: Six of the party's thirteen vice presidents are women, while
Speaker 1: the new central team includes twelve women overall, something party
Speaker 1: leaders see as important ahead of elections in states including Uttar, Pradesh,
Speaker 1: Punjab and Gudrad. There is also a generational shift. Badhudra
Speaker 1: m p himang Joshi, who is thirty five, has been
Speaker 1: appointed president of the BJP's youth wing, replacing Tejasviisurya. Several
Speaker 1: other relatively younger leaders have also entered the national team.
Speaker 1: Another major change is in the BJP's digital operation. Ahmad
Speaker 1: Malviya has been replaced by Chattazhgar's leader Deepak Muske as
Speaker 1: social media convener, alongside four newly appointed co convenors. Party
Speaker 1: sources say this overhaul reflects a renew you'd focus on
Speaker 1: social media communication, particularly after the recent gen z driven
Speaker 1: student protests at Jantar Mantar and the rise of the
Speaker 1: Cokro Junta party. The rishuffle also brings in several leaders
Speaker 1: from Paul bound Uttar Pradesh, including Irani Rikha Verma and
Speaker 1: Tarik Mansur, while representation from southern states has been reduced,
Speaker 1: with Telangana receiving no representation. Prime Minister inn Arrange Removie
Speaker 1: described the new team as combining organizational experience, energy and
Speaker 1: grassroots connect essentially signaling that the BJP is trying to
Speaker 1: balance familiar faces with a younger and more socially diverse
Speaker 1: leadership ahead of its next electoral cycle. You were listening
Speaker 1: to Three Things by the Indian Express. Today's show was
Speaker 1: edited and mixed by Suriesh Pavar and produced by Niharikananda
Speaker 1: and me Ichasharma. If you like the show, do subscribe
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