Experts say all constructions to be earthquake resistant, life line buildings to be retrofitted
Srinagar, Oct 08: On the 15th anniversary of earthquake which hit Kashmir in 2005, experts have called for earthquake resistant constructions.
On October 8, 2005, a massive earthquake hit and created destruction across Kashmir.
Kashmir
has been witnessing frequent earthquakes. As per the details of
Meteorological Department Kashmir accessed by news agency Kashmir
Indepth News Service (KINS) that over 140 earthquakes have been reported
in the last one decade.
JK is
vulnerable to disasters. At least 13 districts out of 100 districts in
India have been identified as ‘multi hazard districts’.
In
connection with the 15th anniversary of Kashmir earthquake-2005, a
webinar on challenges, resilience and mitigation was jointly organized
by National Institute of Disaster Management and The Institution of
Engineers (India), Jammu & Kashmir State Centre, Srinagar, in
collaboration with the Divisional Administration, Kashmir & Indian
Red Cross Society, J&K Branch Srinagar.
The
webinar was inaugurated by Pandurang K. Pole Divisional Commissioner
Kashmir, who stressed on the need to enforce building codes and
implement building bye laws in J&K, not just in urban areas, but
also in rural areas, so that all new constructions are earthquake
resistant.
He stressed on the need
to utilise the local traditional construction knowledge, as well as new
technologies to make all structures safe. He proposed that a few
important buildings will be identified as life-line buildings, on a
pilot-basis, in vulnerable districts, for their retrofitting in order to
make them earthquake resistant. He emphasised on ensuring that all
engineered and non-engineered structures are made earthquake resistant.
He also shared his experiences as District Magistrate of Latur
Maharashtra, and spoke about the Latur Earthquake of 1993, where the
affected villagers were shifted to new locations instead of repairing
and reconstructing in-situ the existing damaged structures, and instead
ex-situ new safe structures were taken up, adhering to all planning
processes, which proved to be a best practice in the State.
He
impressed upon all the Officers and participants to ensure that
appropriate measures are taken to make J&K safe. Er. Aamir Ali,
Chairman IEI J&K State Centre, Srinagar welcomed the participants
and said that 2005-earthquake was the severest earthquake encountered in
our lifetime, which resulted in massive destruction on both sides of
the Line of Control. He said that post earthquake, innovative and
effective relief & rehabilitation measures were taken by the
Government to establish Institutional mechanism, to deal with disasters,
including setting up of State Disaster Management Authority, Divisional
& District Disaster Management Authorities and State Disaster
Response Force.
However, the lessons
learnt from the earthquake of 2005 were not effectively implemented to
enhance capacities to minimise risk and vulnerability due to
earthquakes. The panellists included Kamal Kishore, Member National
Disaster Management Authority, Dr. Vineet K. Gahalaut, National
Geophysical Research Institute Hyderabad, Tinny Sawhney, Aga Khan
Development Network, Dr. Rajendra Desai, National Centre for People’s
Action in Disaster Preparedness Ahmedabad & Dr. C.V.R Murthy,
Professor IIT Madras. Kamal Kishore, Member NDMA discussed challenges
faced in Institutional mechanism for financing reconstruction,
rehabilitation and recovery. He emphasised on utilising appropriate
technology for owner driven constructions and ensuring quality checks
and control. He further suggested that while considering resettlement of
populations from vulnerable areas, their livelihood should also be
considered. He also spoke about capacity building for earthquake
resistant structures, and scaling up training of engineers and masons
for servicing the demand. He suggested that post disasters not only
structures should be built back better, but also the livelihood and
social equity in economic terms of the affected population. Dr. Vineet
K. Gahalaut from National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad
described the damage pattern of Kashmir Earthquake-2005, and defined
variability in earthquake processes in the Himalayan region, with
special reference to earthquake processes in Kashmir Region. He
highlighted about strain accumulation, subsurface structures, scenario
generation, building code enforcement, retrofitting and outreach. Tinny
Sawhney from Aga Khan Development Network, shared her experiences about
challenges faced during reconstruction & rehabilitation after the
Kashmir Earthquake. She mentioned about the masons training programme
for earthquake resistant construction techniques and technical
assistance & monetary subsidy given for reconstructing earthquake
resistant structures. Dr. Rajender Desai explained how low-cost
earthquake resistant technologies and retrofitting of existing
structures can be achieved. The webinar was moderated by Er. M. Aaquib
Sultana Waheed Deva, Honorary Secretary, IEI-JKSC. The webinar was
attended online by senior Government Officers from various Departments,
including experts, professionals and more than 300 participants from the
community etc.(KINS)
