Highrises in the commercial hub of Fancy Bazar. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

Jan. 3: Dispur has failed to clear the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)?s report on earthquakes in the state for over a year, belying claims that it is prepared to deal with the tremors predicted by US experts.

The technical group of the UNDP had submitted a report to the Assam government in the first half of 2004, elaborating the methodology required to survey the quake-vulnerable multistoreys here and the remedial measures that need to be taken.

Experts Rachna Yadav, Kalika Mahapatra, Sarat Das, Jayant Pathak, Ranjit Deka and Shashikant Panchgalle have identified non-engineering structures as being more vulnerable to earthquakes and urged the government to immediately mark such structures in Fancy Bazar and other commercial hubs here.

The PWD has identified over 20 buildings, including Gauhati High Court, the Kamrup district administration office, hostel number 4 and several blocks of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, the administrative block of Cotton College, office of the commissioner of lower Assam division, the chief judicial magistrate court building, District Library, State Museum, Rabindra Bhavan and the State Fire Service Organisation building, as high-risk structures, requiring immediate renovation.

Pathak, assistant professor of the department of civil engineering, Jorhat Engineering College, said the need of the hour is a survey of the public buildings such as schools, hospitals and cinemas to assess their quake vulnerability.

?One should not obsessed with only highrises. All buildings constructed without a proper design need to assessed and marked. Corrective measures can be taken only after the buildings are identified,? he said.

President of Assam Real Estate Builders and Infrastructure Developers? Association P.K. Sarma said the real estate builders are ready to co-operate with the state government to reduce the quake disasters. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday asked the officials to check the vulnerability of the highrises to earthquake.

Sarma, however, said the focus should be more on the structural designs of the buildings than their height. ?Highrises or any other multistoreys can withstand earthquakes if the structural design is proper.?