Road Cut Slope Stability Analysis at Kotropi Landslide Zone Along NH-154 in Himachal Pradesh, India

A landslide is a natural phenomenon that generally occurs in mountainous regions leading to severe damage to life and property. Most of the landslides occur due to rapid snowmelt, rainfall and human activities in terms of road cutting, and mining, etc. In the present study, slope stability analysis of Kotropi landslide along NH-154 in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, India was carried out by using circular failure charts (CFC). The various input parameters such as ground water table and shear strength of soil were considered in the analysis. The factor of safety (FOS) was evaluated for different moisture conditions such as completely dry, 25% and 50% saturation for the selected four sections at Kotropi landslide. These sections were found as marginally stable with factor of safety greater than unity when the slope is completely dry while further increase in the moisture made slope sections unstable with FOS < 1 in case of slope sections 2, 3, and 4. Hence, the precautionary control measures were suggested based on the factor of safety analysis which will be helpful for various stake holders like engineers, designers, geologists etc., for stabilizing the current slope.