Lessons from quake forgotten with time

BHUBANESWAR: Various government departments held discussions regarding the safety of buildings when a mild earthquake shook the state capital and cracks appeared in several buildings in May last year. About eight months later, hardly any steps have been taken.
Experts have said the city should take concrete measures to minimize possible damage during any such calamity.
After the May 21 tremor that shook the state, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) formed a technical team led by Pitabasa Sahoo, planning member, BDA, to suggest possible measures to safeguard buildings. BDA had decided to conduct a survey of existing buildings to scrutinize their structural safety. Experts from IIT Bhubaneswar (IIT-BBS), IIT Kharagpur, Geological Survey of India (GSI) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) were part of the group.
The group had suggested creation of a probabilistic hazard map of city to evaluate the earthquake risk to important buildings, so that proper measures could be taken such as reinforcing the structure if needed. It also recommended “retrofitting” of old buildings to comply with seismic Zone-III requirements.
A major portion of Odisha, including Bhubaneswar, falls under seismic zone III (moderate seismic zone). The epicenter of the May 21, 2014, tremor, which sent shockwaves across the state, was 275 km southeast of Paradip, as per the Indian Tsunami Early Warning System of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).
Buildings under construction were supposed to be checked by independent organizations for their compliance with seismic Zone-III needs. Geological conditions such as information about faults, folds, lineaments and fractures would be considered while granting permissions for future buildings of more than two floors, as per the technical team’s suggestions.
Government sources said hardly any action had been taken to comply with the suggestions. Mayor Anant Narayan Jena said that Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), which would soon start giving building plan approvals instead of the BDA, would ensure structural safety of the plans while issuing construction approvals. “There will be strict checking at various levels of construction to ensure that structurally sound buildings are constructed,” he said.
A government officer said the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) was creating awareness among various stakeholders through its Urban Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction Programme being implemented in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur.
Lamenting government laxity, Sanjeeb Guru, chairman, Indian Institute of Architects, Odisha chapter, said BMC and BDA must take action to mitigate future loss of lives and damage to property in case of any such possible disasters. “To my mind, our preparedness is zero. Last year’s tremor was a warning. Unless we learn from it, the damages could be huge if and when there is a quake,” Guru said.
Gopal Panda, a professor of geography at Utkal University, said awareness was required for natural disasters such as earthquakes. “Though government agencies are taking some steps, these are not visible. The message should reach the grassroots level,” said Panda.
Surendra Behera, a former director (town planning), Odisha, said that under the building norms, BDA was relying on a structural stability certificate issued by an architect for issuing building permission. “However, it is ill-equipped to verify if a developer actually follows the norms after obtaining such certificate,” he said.