The Bihar State Disaster Management Authority would start a disaster management centre on the campus of National Institute of Technology to create awareness on tackling calamities.
The first-of-its-kind centre in the state would conduct training, research work, conferences, and create awareness about disaster management. The state government and the engineering college would run it jointly. The unit is likely to be inaugurated by chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi this month.
Besides housing the disaster management centre, the NIT administration has decided to introduce a two-year MTech programme in disaster management. Its academic session will start from July this year.
NIT-Patna director Asok De said: 'The launch of the centre assumes importance, as apart from providing training, the unit will create awareness about disaster management. Its work would revolve around capacity building of local communities for preparation of village-level plans by involving participation of functionaries from panchayati raj institutions, urban local bodies, civil society organisations and others.'
Ankit Verma, a third-year civil engineering student, said: 'The disaster management course is getting popular in India. Students, having a degree in disaster management, are much in demand nowadays.'
NIT-Patna would be the first engineering college in the state to launch disaster management course in MTech. No other engineering college offers such a programme.
The entire state falls under seismic zone. While districts such as Araria, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi and Supaul lie in zone V (very high), the southwestern districts of Aurangabad, Bhojpur, Buxar, Gaya, Jehanabad, Kaimur, Nawada and Rohtas lie in zone III (moderate). The remaining districts, including Patna, lie in zone IV (high risk).
An official from the disaster management authority said: 'The launch of the centre would be beneficial, as NIT faculty members and officials of the disaster management authority would provide guidelines on how to make quake-resistant buildings. Prior to this, neither the authority nor the civic bodies have stressed on tremor-proof buildings.'
With unplanned growth of urban centres such as Patna, Muzaffarpur and Gaya, where high-rises have come up without nod from the disaster management authority, the possibilities of casualties are high in case of a high intensity earthquake.
Even former chief minister Nitish Kumar, worried with the unplanned growth of cities, had commented that if an earthquake of high magnitude occurred in Patna, not less than five lakh people would die.
The state has witnessed a few earthquakes in the past few years. One of them was on May 21, 2014.
Its magnitude was 6 on the Richter scale and the epicentre lay at the Bay of Bengal, 275km southeast of Paradip port.
