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| No ERD adopted for reconstruction of damaged houses in earthquake | | ''Govt overlooks National Buildings Code' | | Arun Singh
Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 14: Despite the fact that Jammu and Kashmir State falls under a seismic sensitive zone which causes due damage to buildings, residential houses when earthquake occurs no precautions are raken. It was made mandatory to adopt Earthquake Resistant Design (ERD) while construction of buildings, bridges etc but Government forgot to follow norms in case of reconstruction of damaged houses in earthquake.
Sources told Early Times that State Disaster Management Plan approved in 2012 envisaged that the National Buildings Code and other codes prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for seismic zones IV and V should be followed by the concerned departments.
It is pertinent to mention here that following a series of low magnitude earthquakes which took place in the Kishtwar-Doda-Bhaderwah belt in 2013, the Governor wrote to the Government, suggesting inter-alia, the need for retrofitting the existing buildings and mandatory incorporation of Earthquake Resistant Design features for new constructions.
They further said that while earthquake-resistant designs were adopted for construction of office buildings, bridges, etc. but these same were not followed for private buildings as the disaster resistant designs and retrofitting techniques were not ensured in re-construction of houses which were fully or severely damaged during the floods of September 2014 and for which relief was provided by the Government and the constructions remained vulnerable to earthquakes in a seismic sensitive zone.
"The Earthquake Resistant Design is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. The retrofit techniques are also applicable for other natural hazards such as cyclones, and severe winds from thunderstorms," they said.
They further added that National Building Code of India (NBC), a comprehensive building Code, is a national instrument providing guidelines for regulating the building construction activities across the country. It serves as a Model Code for adoption by all agencies involved in building construction works be they Public Works Departments, other government construction departments, local bodies or private construction agencies. |
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