The hilly areas of Bhandup and Ghatkopar will be most vulnerable to landslides this monsoon, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Tuesday said.
The civic body has identified 178 landslide-prone areas in the city, which are in the danger of caving in this monsoon. Last year, the number of landslide-prone spots listed were 156.
This year, the S Ward consisting of Bhandup and Kanjurmarg tops the list with 49 spots, followed by Ghatkopar-Vikhroli (north) and Byculla-Mazgaon (east) with 42 and 17 spots respectively.
Almost all the landslide spots are located on the hilly areas or the slopes of hills. Heavy rains along with strong winds are likely to cause soil erosion, resulting in landslide or flooding of nullahs in these areas, a civic official said. Kurla, Malad and Chembur are the other areas vulnerable to landslides. Majority of these areas are in the eastern suburbs (117), followed by the island city (37) and western suburbs (24).
So far, the BMC has issued notices to over 75,000 residents living at these 178 spots to move to safer places. “Like Mhada, we don’t have the right to evacuate people living in dangerous areas. Hence, in the notice, we have mentioned that the residents will have to live there at their own risk,” a senior civic official said.