New Delhi: Every year, during monsoon, landslides claim a number of lives and cause huge damage to property across the country, especially in the hilly region, and this time it was no different. Recently, landslides in rain-battered Kerala left a trail of destruction, while in Manipur, a massive landslip killed nine people last month. The northeastern state has witnessed six major landslides since May.

The hill state of Himanchal Pradesh was also hit and in Uttarakhand, a number of pilgrims during the Kailash Mansarovar and the Kanwar yatras were left stranded due to landslides. Specifically for Manipur, the Environment Ministry has indicated that most landslides in the state were "anthropogenically" induced and were caused due to a host of reasons, including modification of slopes for construction and widening of roads.