Editorial:Will We Heed the Wednesday Reminder

So, even tectonic activities remember anniversaries. On Wednesday evening, exactly four months since the 18 September temblor ran its destructive course through Sikkim, a reminder of the State’s continuing potential for earthquakes [in case anyone had forgotten] rattled parts of Sikkim. There have been several aftershocks since the devastating one of 18 Sept, and some of the initial ones were of much stronger intensity than the one last night, but this one was still strong enough to unnerve and thankfully coursed through without causing any damage or causing any real panic. What the quake hopefully succeeded in achieving is reminding all here of the still pending task of disaster preparedness. Time, even a brief four months, has a way of calming nerves, which is good, but unfortunately, time also dulls the zest to undertake necessary works. One hopes that the planners and builders took the Wednesday evening reminder well and have returned to the task of preparedness, rebuilding and safety with renewed commitment. Such reminders may not be welcome, but are necessary. It did after all take a personal follow-up by the Chief Minister to get the Centre to release part of the promised/ sanctioned funds. These were emergency funds, but the urgency was obviously lost in the corridors of Delhi because they sure did take a rather long four months before releasing the first instalment. Closer home, one will remember that immediately in the aftermath of the earthquake, all constructions [new and ongoing] were banned on the logic that the earth had been shaken and some time should be allowed before things settled enough for fresh loads to be added. Was this ban even implemented? And then there is talk of amending the building byelaws to make houses safer. A consultative workshop was also held recently to take this initiative forward. This is welcome and will hopefully come before the fear of earthquakes has worn off which will make the reception unlikely to be smooth. What is important to now bear in mind is that even ‘authorised’ or ‘legal’ constructions are not necessarily safe, because safe can only be delivered if constructions are handled more professionally. More than laws, or for that matter bye-laws, both of which have been and can be circumvented, it is important to convince those who construct of their responsibility towards delivering safer residences. Experts who studied the impact the Valentine’s Day temblor of 2006 are unanimous in their observation that the damage suffered was disproportionate to the ‘moderate’ 5.7 intensity quake. The disproportionate damage was a direct consequence of poor building practises. What this means is that even if a building stands on a safe ‘zone’ [in earthquake vulnerability gradation], the poor science deployed in its construction increases its seismic vulnerability. Anyone who builds anywhere in Sikkim should be made to understand this.