Delhiites may be feeling safe in their homes, but their safety is hanging in balance. Most of the houses built in the national capital can't withstand tremors, if the epicentre is somewhere near the city. According to earth quake researchers and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), approximately 90 per cent of the buildings in Delhi are vulnerable to earthquake.??
The Delhi government on the directions of the Delhi High Court to make an action plan has set up a committee in which the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is the nodal agency. India Today reported.
Representational Image, Photo: Reuters
A safety audit policy to protect the buildings from earthquakes has been draft by the MCD and has been sent to the Delhi government.
?This audit policy makes safety audit of every building whether it’s an authorised or unauthorised colony compulsory, but this audit will have to carried out by the people themselves? and they will have to pay from their own pockets for the audit.?
The MCD will also create a new website for the safety audit of the building and the contact numbers of all stakeholder organisations such as MCD, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and structural engineers will be there.
If anyone wants to get the safety audit of the building done, can contact on the number given on the website. A safety certificate will also be issued after the audit. A deadline will also be set for the safety audits.
The country is divided into four seismic zones- Zone II, III, IV and V.? Zone II is the least active seismic zone which means the region is least prone to earthquake whereas zone V is seismically most active and thus make the region highly prone to earthquake. Delhi falls in zone IV.