Three workers, including two women, have died following a landslide at a quarry near the village of Bhatakamarada in the Ganjam District of Odisha State, India, on Tuesday 28 April 2020. The immediate cause of the landslip is unclear, though the incident is being investigated by the local police, who reportedly believe that the event may have been triggered by severe rain in the area. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess
pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments,
allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides
are caused by heavy rainfall.
The approximate location of the Bhatakamarada Quarry. Google Maps.
The areas around Bhatakamarada is home to a number of small quarries extracting rock and sand for the construction industry. These typically operate by blasting the rock with explosives before removing it with hand tools or light machinery. Such mining operations tend to be small scale, locally
owned and poorly regulated, with the industry known to have low safety
standards and prone to illegal activities such as unlicensed extraction
(which usually also implies no outside safety inspections).
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