Kochi: Even as parts of Kochi are rattled along with the quakes in Nepal and North India, many of the high-rises in the business capital of the state remain vulnerable while the whole of the state is in zone-three of quake classification.
As per the classification, quakes of the magnitude of up to seven on the Richter scale can occur in the state with serious consequences.
But there is hardly any official check to ensure the quality and durability of buildings while no accountability is fixed in the case of the collapse of a private building.
The Kerala chapter of Graduates’ Association of Civil Engineers (GRACE) has come out against the current state of affairs and has said that many hospitals which are supposed to be the rescue centres in case of a tragedy too do not have quake-proof buildings.
“The authorities are only looking into stipulations like Floor Area Ratio (FAR), setback and coverage. The old Kerala Municipal Building Rules (KMBR) have not been amended to conform to the National Building Code (NBC) which fixes the responsibility on the civil engineer in the event of a collapse. The Disaster Management Act passed by Parliament also stipulates that the NBC should be followed, but KMBR is yet to be revised to ensure this. In the event of a building collapse, now nobody can be held responsible. The civil engineer should be involved at all levels of construction,” said Mr K.T. Mathew, state president of GRACE.
“We understand that now there are moves to amend the KMBR, but there is no decision yet to ensure the presence of representatives of civil engineers in any committee. Civil engineers lead the planning, design and execution of a building construction and they alone can ensure a durable, safe and cost-effective building. So engineer-experts should be included in this committee,” Mr Mathew said.
