Urban Landscape Change in the Trans-Himalayan Town of Kargil, Ladakh, India

Small and medium-sized towns in the high mountain regions of South Asia are characterized by rapid and mostly unplanned urbanisation processes resulting in increased risk to natural hazards, such as flash floods, landslides and earthquakes. Due to rapid urban expansion, the case study of Kargil, the second largest city of the Union Territory of Ladakh is chosen to identify risk-prone areas. Based on multi-temporal approach using high resolution satellite imagery (Corona, ASTER and PlanetScope), statistical data and repeated field surveys, urban landscape changes are analysed since the 1960s. The population of Kargil town increased from 1,681 in 1961 to 16,338 in 2011, while total population of the entire Kargil district multiplied from 45,064 to 140,802 over the same period. The built-up area of Kargil town has grown from 0.25 km² to 2.30 km² between 1965 and 2020. The mountain region of Kargil is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters such as landslides, cloudbursts, and flash floods. The main highways (NH-1D and NH-301) connecting Kargil with adjacent regions are prone to landslides. Recurring flash floods in the surrounding of Kargil town was observed in the years 2006, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018, which caused massive damages to roads, buildings, and agricultural area. Most recent flash floods occurred in Kargil town (Baroo and Titichumik) and in different rural villages of Chiktan, Suru and Drass in 2022. These settlements are either located along the streams or on low lying banks of the main rivers, Suru, Drass and Wakha; examples include hazard prone areas such as the new bus stand, and Kabadi Nallah on the banks of Suru river and several other new settlements like Silmo colony or Andoo colony in Kargil town. Urban expansion does not only cover the most suitable areas but increasingly sprawls across steep slopes; examples include the new residential areas of Silmo colony, Andoo colony, and Haidery Mohalla. These new urban settlements are extremely prone to natural hazards and question the sustainability of town planning in this mountain region. The central old town, Baroo colony and Poyen colony are already saturated due to unplanned buildings and infrastructural development. The drivers of the urbanization include increasing of urban population, rural-urban migration to the administrative capital of Kargil district, and an increasing mountain tourism sector which led to new constructions of hotels, guesthouses, and arrival of tourists.