22nd February 1998

Living dangerously

Naketiya in Koslanda was the site of a mas sive landslide in November last year. A large acreage of land along with the road, bridge and some houses standing on it was completely devastated. The road from Beragala to Wellawaya was rendered impassable.

Visiting the area this week, we found that a temporary roadway has been constructed across the landslide area by the Road Development Authority (RDA) of Bandarawela. Traffic including buses are now able to ply on the route. The landslide site however looks desolate and uninhabitable. It appears as though a huge elongated crater has been gouged out of the green hillside, exposing uneven mounds of reddish brown earth. Trees, wrenched out with their roots and some remnants of building materials are seen among the heaps of earth and rock. The massive depression extends all the way down the slope, while the newly constructed dusty road cuts across it. Cracks can also be seen on some of the remaining hillocks, indicating the possibility of more landslides. One has to be thankful that the residents were given timely warning and no lives were lost in this disaster.

At the edge of the crater, A. Nadaraja has built a little wooden shack and is endeavouring to carry on a trade in sundry household needs. Nadaraja says he had operated his grocery store at Naketiya for the past 18 years. His six roomed house and adjoining shop were completely destroyed in the landslide. "We were advised to stay away from our homes at least in the nights since the walls of the houses showed cracks," Nadaraja said. He had carried on with his shop during the day and the family spent the nights in the little Roman Catholic church nearby. A week before the landslide occurred, he had taken out some of his stores and other belongings. However, he was not able to salvage his furniture and heavy items. Nadaraja's shack which he says he built only last week, is an unauthorised structure built on the road reservation. He has been asked to remove it by the Engineers. Nadaraja says business is low now since he cannot afford to stock much. "I have set up here mainly because I have given Rs. 27,000 worth credit to my regular customers and I am trying to collect it. My son is studying for his A levels at Bandarawela and it costs me Rs.2000 each month for his education," Nadaraja said. He is trying his best to obtain permission to erect his shop higher up since this is where his customers are.

Nadaraja and his wife Somawathie now live in the church with their three children. Podinona, and her husband who works as a labourer, have also sought refuge at the church with their two children, as well as the family of Karupiah who is also a labourer. These three families have had their homes completely swept away by the landslide. The small church contains all that they have salvaged. A pet dog and some chickens were also seen in the church compound. "Our dog also disappeared with the water but he managed to find us again after four days," one of the women said. The priest has given them his changing room to cook their food. The three families sleep, live, cook and eat in the small church. On Sundays, when the service is held, they move their belongings and arrange the church for the service. "It is difficult to live like this but we have no other place to go to," they said.

The Divisional Secretary, Haldemulla, H.L.S. Wijesinghe says that arrangements have been made to give twenty perches of land each to eight families who have been displaced by the landslide. The land has been allocated from an estate in Koslanda which is vested in the Land Reform Commission. They expect to distribute the plots within the week. Apparently, three families have lost their homes completely while the others have been able to remove most of the building materials from the houses and are temporarily accommodated elsewhere. Mr. Wijesinghe said that all those living in the affected area had been evacuated a week before the landslide occurred. Further, he said that the Social Department has been issuing dry rations to the three families who are living in the church premises since November 21. Each of the affected families has been given the first instalment of Rs. 3,500 towards the building of new homes. When the land is allocated to them they will receive Rs. 6,500 more. In addition they also have the optional facility of obtaining a loan of Rs. 25,000 from the National Housing Development Authority. He added that eight families who had lost their homes in a landslide at Marankawela have already been allocated some land from a forest reserve.

Mr. Warnakulasuriya, Executive Engineer of the R.D.A at Bandarawela says that this area has been identified as a landslide prone area. Even the name "Naketiya" is suggestive of it. "For several decades, the sliding movement has been evident," Mr. Warnakulasuriya said. "A baily bridge was put up by the RDA. One side of the bridge rose up due to the sliding movement underneath. The soil comes up raising the bridge with it. The bridge was swept away in the landslide." According to him, one side of the road had a steep precipice. With the hillock coming down, the earth has filled up the precipice. About 1,500 acres of land has been affected by the landslide.

Mr. Warnakulasuriya further explained that cracks in the hills fill up with water during heavy rains. "Absorption of water causes saturation, expansion and increase of weight," he said. "With the increased weight, the top layers of the hills come sliding down." According to the Executive Engineer, the earthslip area is still not stable. However, the sliding movement seems to have considerably lessened.

When the new road was constructed, two rows of large diameter concrete pipes were laid underneath to facilitate the flow of water. The purpose of the pipes is to conduct the water through them during the rainy season, reducing the excessive absorption of water by the soil and so prevent the earth from sliding. "We are investigating the possibility of deviating the road avoiding the sliding areas," Mr. Warnakulasuriya said. "The problem would be that the villagers may find transport more difficult. Along the road from Beragala to Koslanda, there are many sliding areas. In the Haldemulla area, the sides are sinking. There have been several smaller landslides. This type of soil is not reliable. It tends to swell with water and then slide."

According to Mr. Warnakulasuriya, another possibility being investigated is the diversion of the stream to a river across the hills on the other side. Several specialists from the Research Division of the RDA as well as other research organisations have inspected the site and are working on it. "The best possibility will be adopted," he said.

"We are not sure if the slide has fully settled yet," said Mr. Tilak Silva, Chief Engineer, RDA, Bandarawela. " The road we have constructed is a temporary measure. We intend to observe the behaviour of the sliding areas. It is difficult for anybody to predict what would happen. In about six months we will be able to assess the situation better." Mr. Silva says the openings they have left for the flow of water may not be sufficient with heavy rains. However, the pipes are quite costly so they need to make reasonably sure that they will not all be swept away. Since there are no longer any residents in danger, he says they will be able watch for some time. They are also considering widening the new road so that vehicles could cross more easily. The unstable stretches of road in the area are being made more stable. In the meantime, the National Building and Research Organisation is engaged in identifying and mapping out the landslide prone areas in the hill country.

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