BMC wants info on earthquake resistant buildings

Concerned whether the city will be able to withstand a quake like the one that hit Nepal last week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to collect the data of earthquake resistant buildings in the MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region).

Concerned whether the city will be able to withstand a quake like the one that hit Nepal last week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to collect the data of earthquake resistant buildings in the MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region).

The civic body will write to all agencies in the region for a list of such buildings.

The idea is to have a list ready of buildings that can be used as shelters during disaster such as
earthquakes and cyclones.

According to the National Building Code of India, cities should have earthquake resistant buildings to deal with such disasters.

A senior official from the DP department said, “Ideally, every authority should have compiled the data, as the Central government has made it mandatory. However, it has been completely ignored. The Nepal quake has been a wake-up call.”

According to the official, they are in the process of finalising the letter. “It will be sent in the first week of May to all corporations,” he said.

In 2005, after the National Building Code of India was revised, it was decided to have quake-proof buildings to use them as shelters. But many builders did not follow the guidelines.

Also, the civic body was to set up an institute of disaster management, which was expected to have earthquake stimulator. The idea was to train people and the staff of the disaster management unit to deal with such situations. However, the institute is yet to start.

RAIGAD RESIDENT STILL UNTRACEABLE
Although most of the tourists from the state have returned from Nepal, a resident of Raigad is still missing.
The person, identified as Mhatre, was employed with a school there.

According to the state government, only 100 people from Maharashtra are still in Kathmandu and other places of Nepal. “Mhatre is still not traceable. He was employed as a teacher. We have no clue about his whereabouts,” said an official from the disaster management unit of the government.