| Sukesh writes to PM on incorporating earthquake- resistant housing, infra | | |  Early Times Report
JAMMU, Feb 15: Senior social & health activist Sukesh C. Khajuria who has been raising various public interest issues for the past nearly four decades has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to draw his attention towards the urgent national need for strengthening earthquake resistant building infrastructure in the country taking a cue from the advanced, time-tested, and effective practices followed by Japan.
He wrote that India is geographically vulnerable to earthquakes, especially across the Himalayan belt, North-Eastern states, Gujarat, and Jammu and Kashmir, all of which lie in active seismic zones. He further stated that While India has established building codes such as IS 1893 and IS 13920, their enforcement on the ground often remains inconsistent, particularly in private construction and local infrastructure development.
He commended the Hon'ble Prime Minister for integrating state-of-the-art, earthquake-resistant design features into the new Parliament building and the Prime Minister's Office complex-Seva Teerth and Kartavya Bhavan in New Delhi-showcasing India's advanced engineering capabilities and commitment to resilient infrastructure. However, he expressed concern that such high standards are not being implemented uniformly across the country. In particular, several seismic-prone Himalayan states continue to witness unsafe and non-compliant construction practices, placing millions of lives at serious risk.
"Your flagship initiative, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY - Urban and Rural), is a visionary step towards providing all-weather pacca houses to every eligible Indian citizens. The scheme rightly emphasizes earthquake-resistant design, green construction techniques, renewable energy solutions such as solar systems, and safety from environmental and radiation-related risks. Effective and uniform implementation of these objectives across all regions-especially high-risk seismic zones-can transform PMAY into a global model for resilient and sustainable housing," he said.
Sukesh C.Khajuria said that as per geological assessments and expert predictions, a major earthquake is inevitable in the coming years and could prove devastating if preparedness is lacking as history has shown that earthquakes themselves do not claim lives-unsafe buildings do. He emphasised that there is, therefore, an urgent need not only to strictly enforce earthquake-resistant construction norms for new buildings but also to retrofit and strengthen existing structures using modern engineering techniques.
Giving the example of Japan, Sukesh C. Khajuria said that despite facing frequent high-magnitude earthquakes, that country has significantly minimized loss of life and infrastructure damage through strict enforcement of seismic codes, base isolation systems, shock absorbers, flexible structural designs, periodic safety audits, and mandatory retrofitting of older buildings. Equally important is Japan's emphasis on public awareness, education, and disaster preparedness, which ensures resilience rather than mere post-disaster recovery, he added. |
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