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51 Guwahati highrises declared quake-vulnerable

Nitin Gogoi in Guwahati

With Geological Survey of India officials identifying the northeast as one of the most earthquake-prone zones in the country, apartment dwellers in Guwahati are a worried lot.

Considered one of the fastest growing cities in the country, Guwahati has seen a boom in multi-storeyed construction over the past three years with many people moving into high-rise buildings from their 'Assam-type' houses (another term for earthquake-resistant houses made of single-brick wall and thatches roofs). Now most flat owners are a worried lot. Worried whether the buildings here can resist tremors of high intensity in this seismic region.

Their anxiety has been enhanced by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority's recent survey, identifying 51 multi-storeyed buildings, mostly residential apartments, as vulnerable. D N Saikia, chief executive officer, GMDA, admitted that a major earthquake could spell disaster for Guwahati city which has a population of over a million people.

Saikia, who is also the collector and magistrate of Kamrup district, under which Guwahati falls, said the district administration would convene a meeting of architects, bureaucrats, builders and engineers on Saturday, February 10, to discuss a disaster management plan and to make necessary amendments wherever necessary.

No one can avert an earthquake, he pointed out, but steps must be initiated to minimise the losses. Saikia said as the high rise buildings were constructed in narrow lanes and bylanes, rescue operations would be seriously affected in Guwahati. It would, he added, be impossible for fire tenders and rescue teams to move into the narrow lanes.

"Personally, I am of the view that construction of multi-storeyed buildings in Guwahati should be stopped immediately, but we cannot refuse permission for the construction of the same till a law is enacted in this regard," he added.

Though the GMDA has identified 51 vulnerable buildings, Saikia felt there may be many more vulnerable buildings in the city. Efforts should be made jointly by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation and the GMDA, he added, to examine these highrises. This matter would be discussed at Saturday's meeting since both organisations lack adequate manpower to examine every skyscraper.

He pointed out that lack of open spaces in the city would pose a major problem in case of a Gujarat-like disaster. "In Gujarat the people rendered homeless are staying in open spaces but in Guwahati we do not have adequate open spaces to shift the affected people," he added. He also acknowledged that lack of equipment like hydraulic ladders, cutters, heavy cranes etc would create serious problems for rescue workers in case of a major disaster.

"We are naturally very anxious though the promoters assured us that our building is earthquake-resistant," says retired police officer K S Doss who lives in Apsara Apartments on Dharmananda Das Avenue.

Living on the third floor of the building, he says despite the fears he will continue living where he is. "There is no alternative," he says. A resident of City Heart Apartments at Lachit Nagar says "Though we were assured by the promoters, we have some doubts whether the building is actually earthquake-resistant or not." He admits that though there is "panic" he cannot think of shifting elsewhere. "It is a lifetime investment," he adds.

Suchandra Choudhury, a resident of Arunadai Apartments, Bora Service, says her family had thought about the possibility of earthquakes before taking up residence here. "My husband used to say it was better staying in an Assam-type house, but we decided to shift because of the advantages of flats," she says.

Dr Anil Goswami of Meghamallar House, Uzan Bazar, appear quite unperturbed. "My belief is that the recent constructions in Assam are good," he says. Dr Goswami is confident about the state's engineers which, he feels, is evident from the fact that there has been few building collapses in the past. He agrees that the region is vulnerable to earthquakes, but feels the buildings would not be damaged to the same extent as those in Gujarat.

"Earthquakes are unpredictable. The only thing is that our buildings are better reinforced," says Professor N N Siddhanta, a resident of the same building. He feels the collapse of buildings in Gujarat is because of lack of proper reinforcements in construction. The professor says there is no point fearing an earthquake. "We should just follow the rules and take precautions inside the house."

The city's builders are unanimous in claiming that their buildings are safe. "We have regulations here by which we are supposed to provide structural safety up to 8.5 on the Richter Scale," says B K Sarma, director, Meghamallar Estates and Services Pvt Ltd. According to him, it is because of this that construction costs in Guwahati are far higher in other cities.

Sarma says there can be no guarantee that the buildings will not develop cracks in the event of an earthquake, but collapse, if any, will take time. "Our people will have enough time to evacuate and even salvage their property," he claims.

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