3 WATCH

AREA
The Times of India, Pune, June 2, 2007

6 NEWS

REALTY

7 CUES

DESIGN

Greater Protection
he Union Home Ministry has set June 30 as the deadline for compliance to the new code whereby all new residential and commercial multi-storied buildings shall be earthquake resistant, incorporating a model techno-legal framework, new building codes and model town planning byelaws to conform to global norms. The government has also called for making existing buildings earthquake resistant through retrofitting (strengthening of existing structures). The latest guidelines indicate there is a need for much higher earthquake protection levels than is offered by the existing Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) codes. City experts have acclaimed the move; however, they have some words of caution on requisite measures to be taken in order to comply with international norms of earthquake resistance. According to Geologist Dr. N.J. Pawar, Department of Geology , University of Pune, "Technical characterisation of the land (foundation conditions- availability of hard and soft rocks, fracturing, jointing, weathering condition of rocks and so on relate with the strength of the rocks) is vital before such lands are utilised for residential or commercial buildings but unfortunately , this kind of implementation is not done by the concerned authorities. Technical characterisation of land is done to understand the seismic response of the land - that is, how the buildings on the land will behave if an earthquake occurs." Pawar adds, "Pune city is in Zone 3 with probability of an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.0 to 6.5 on Richter scale. We cannot easily forget the damage and destruction of the Latur quake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, or the Koyna earthquake, which was 6 on the Richter

scale. Considering the past, we cannot take things lightly . It is a moot point to decide whether Pune buildings are ready to sustain a quake impact of 6 to 6.5 on Richter scale." City experts say that constructing high-rises on swamps, marshy tracts, areas reclaimed below the sea and saltpans land may prove to be risky . Such wetlands have the ability to transmit earthquake vibrations very fast. Sandeep Donald Shah, Director, Taylor Devices India, one of the largest companies in the world supplying earthquake protection products, believes Pune buildings cannot withstand the impact of a quake of 6 to 6.5 on the Richter scale. This, he says, is because these buildings do not have 'Dampers'- (a mechanical device, akin to the shock absorber of a car but much larger, that absorbs the energy released by an earthquake so that buildings where they are installed are not structurally damaged.) "Dampers should be installed for high-rise buildings. Dampers will increase the building cost by Rs.150 to 200 per sq.ft. Buildings get damaged during quakes as energy supplied by the quake to the building causes damage of structural members," he says. Shah, himself a Masters in Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics, from the University of Sheffield, says, "Even if the BIS codes are complied to the fullest, occupants of high rises will not be in a position to continue to occupy them after a major earthquake. This is because the existing codes, which are currently flaunted as "Earthquake Resistant", give an impression to the endusers that the building structure is designed to be Earthquake ResistantImmediate Occupancy [ER-IO] standards. ERIO standards are, however, such that even if there is a major earthquake, such

buildings can continue to be occupied, post earthquake," Shah says. He points out that there is a need to comply with international norms for earthquake protection. USA, Japan are highly seismic but buildings are designed keeping in mind that if there is a major quake, there will not be damage to property . Shah has an interesting story to relate. Mexico City , he says, is considered to be the worst seismic site in the world as it was built on a dried lake bed. Torre Mayor (seen at right), a 55-storey building in Mexico city , was constructed using dampers. When a quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck on January 22, 2003, there was widespread damage in Mexico City . However, Torre Mayor survived without a scratch as the dampers absorbed 70-80% of the earthquake energy . President of Promoters and Builders Association of Pune, Lalit Kumar Jain who is also civil engineer, says, "Dampers are necessary for high-rise buildings, but only in quake prone zones where the probability is higher. There will be an increase in the cost, if the revised codes are complied." Most reputed developers in the city state that they adhere to BIS codes and would take all steps necessary to ensure that they adhere to the new norms as well, though they were unwilling to comment on the specifics of the new code saying that they would need to study the norms in detail. They however expressed the fear that the norms could easily add about Rs 150-200 per sq. ft. to the construction cost, leading to a further hike in property prices. But given a choice between life and death - as earthquake situations could well be - this is one cost that the buyer would not complain too much about. Page 3: Performance levels

The Union Home Ministry's recent directive for enhanced earthquake resistant norms can make high-rises safer, but costlier, says Prasad
Sathyen

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