Disaster in asom

June date for quake plan
ROOPAK GOSWAMI

Jan. 9: A rattled Dispur has decided to have a master disaster management plan in place for the capital within five months. The tsunami has woken up the state government, which has realised how vulnerable the city is. It lies in seismic zone five, the worst among high-risk zones.
Agencies are already working on a slew of plans to mitigate any quake fallout. A senior official promised that the masterplan for an integrated action strategy would be ready by June.
“Different departments are chalking out their respective plans but an integrated plan will be required for implementing it in the right direction,” said state project officer (disaster management) Rupak Majumdar.
The threat to Guwahati is higher than other cities in the region, because highrises have mushroomed and a refinery is located in its vicinity. Majumdar said a vulnerability analysis of buildings in the city is being carried out and experts are working on it. The analysis will be carried out for lifeline buildings (such as schools and hospitals) and other structures.
“We are very serious about this and all efforts are being made out to chalk out an integrated plan for the city,” he said, adding that help is being sought from experts of different agencies, both central and international. Preparation of a microzonation map is also in progress.
The Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will soon send requests to owners of multistoreyed buildings to install earthquake alarms. “Such alarms are needed to alert residents, particularly at night, when tremors go initially unnoticed,” said GMDA chief executive officer D. Haraprasad, adding that installation of quake alarms would be made mandatory when permission is granted for new multistoreyed buildings.
He said the agency is considering a partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, to obtain laser technology for identifying buildings whose construction conforms to the norms of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). A request would also be made to the state government for acquiring the necessary instruments, if the cost is not too high. “Laser technology will help us know whether buildings have been constructed in consonance with BIS norms. We do not wish to go in for destructive methods, like breaking the beams or boring through the walls, to test these factors,” he added.
Medical institutions have also climbed on to the bandwagon, with the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) chalking out plans to set up a field hospital. It is intended to take care of patients if the main hospital building gets damaged. Tents will be put up there, where adequate supplies of medicines would be stocked.
“A committee under the chairmanship of N.K. Bhattacharjee of paediatric surgery has been constituted to take all possible measures to tackle such a disaster,” GMCH principal M.M. Deka said.
State Fire Service Organisation director Jatin Mipun said a search-and-rescue team is being floated. It will be given a motorboat, a rescue tender, an ambulance and a hydraulic platform for rescuing people from multistoreyed buildings.
The state zoo is also holding meetings in this regard. It is confronted with a bizarre problem: that of sedating rhinos while shifting in the event of a disaster. “We are in touch with Orissa’s Nandan Kanan Zoo for procuring “immobilon”, a narcotic used to sedate rhinos,” divisional forest officer Narayan Mahanta said.