Una 28 December: 25 out of 33 disasters notified by the Central Government are present in Himachal Pradesh and the region is vulnerable to various natural disasters including earthquakes, landslides, floods, avalanches and drought, of which earthquakes are of particular concern. Giving this information, District Disaster Management Committee Chairman and Deputy Commissioner Una Raghav Sharma said that from the point of view of earthquake, about 32 percent of the geographical area of Himachal falls in the highly sensitive area i.e. Zone 5, while the remaining area falls in the category of Zone 4. This classification reflects different levels of earthquake susceptibility.
The Deputy Commissioner said that it is very important to promote safe construction practices to reduce the sensitivity to earthquakes. Such practices not only reduce the damage caused after a disaster but also protect human lives. He said that earthquake cannot be predicted, hence preparation through earthquake resistant building construction techniques is important.
Raghav Sharma informed that to promote earthquake resistant safe construction culture in the hill state, a strong pool of retired technical experts is being created which will be helpful in creating widespread awareness about safe building construction. This pool includes retired technically qualified and eligible persons like JE, AE, Axion and SC, who have gained experience by serving in various departments. People building houses at urban and rural levels will be able to directly benefit from their services.
The Deputy Commissioner said that till now 29 civil engineers in Himachal are willing to provide their services to the house builders to promote safe construction. The details of these civil engineers are available on the website of the State Disaster Management Authority. Information of which can be obtained at https://hpsdma.nic.in/index1.aspx?lsid=91&lev=2&lid=91&langid=1. He said that the agreement made in this regard will be considered a mutual agreement between the person building the house and the service provider, in which there will be no interference from the government.
The Deputy Commissioner has called for the State Disaster Management Authority to request interested retired civil engineers across the state to provide their information on the State Disaster Management Authority website. So that safe construction works can be promoted with the help of technical persons to reduce possible dangers.