Landslides are not uncommon in the Himalayan foothills of Bhutan. The geo-environment comprises a fragile and highly pulverized lithology. It is embedded in the Himalayan Main Boundary Thrust fault and is seismically active. The area also experiences intensive rainfall which increases pore water pressure and makes it favourable to landslide occurrences.
However, the landslides have significantly increased in the past few decades mainly due the rapid developmental activities taking place in the area.
Phuentsholing is a major industrial and business hub in Bhutan. A couple of mega hydro-electric projects and few industrial development projects have come up there in the recent past. Such rapid urban expansion and human intervention has negatively impacted the entire landscape of the city. The frequency and occurrence of landslides has increased and this has in-turn effected people, transport, property and cultural monuments. The best known examples are, landslides hampering the supply of vital goods to the capital (Thimphu) and other places, threatening the cultural monument Gumpha
(A Buddhist temple), crop loss, and flash floods.
This paper attempts to highlight how urban development and human intervention is threatening the basic geo-environment around Phuentsholing city in Bhutan.
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