An old building in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, May 23: The district administration has asked the municipal corporation and the development authority to conduct a safety assessment study of all the old and dilapidated buildings in the city.

The direction comes following an apprehension regarding the safety of old structures after many buildings developed cracks following the moderate earthquake that hit the state and other parts of the country on Wednesday.

It is for the first time that a survey on the vulnerability of such buildings would be conducted. The district administration has constituted two committees following the direction of the Odisha Disaster Management Authority to prepare a comprehensive plan to ensure that the loss of human lives and property is minimised in cases of a massive earthquake in the city.

“We have asked the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) to conduct a detailed assessment of the dilapidated buildings so that appropriate action can be taken to protect the lives of the people,” said district collector Girish S.N. “We have asked the committees to furnish a report on the number of unsafe buildings in the city within 15 days,” Girish added.

The district administration has decided to conduct a structural assessment of both private and government buildings in Cuttack city.

The city enforcement committee will have a team of experts including technical engineers and structural engineers of the CMC, the CDA and the public works department. Besides, councillors of all the 59 wards under the municipal corporation will be asked to conduct a preliminary survey of all the old and dilapidated buildings under their respective wards.

“As Cuttack comes under the seismic zone III and II, the district administration has asked us to prepare a list of all the old and dilapidated buildings that might collapse in case of an earthquake,” said CDA vice-chairman Pratap Das.

Based on an initial inquiry by councillors, a technical team of the city enforcement committee would physically inspect the structures and submit a report to the collector for appropriate action.

“We will submit our report and list regarding old and dilapidated buildings. Subsequently, the district administration will declare the buildings unsafe and steps would accordingly be taken for its demolition,” Das added.