Towering deathtraps

Towering deathtraps

The disastrous consequences of the Gujarat earthquake have raised one important question: Are high-rise buildings essentially deathtraps? The answer is yes, if they are built without any heed to safety laws. The Hollywood movie Towering Inferno had displayed the point graphically with regard to fires. In fact, it would not be outlandish to argue that if there were no high-rise buildings in the area that suffered the quake (and since almost none followed the codes), the number of deaths would have been much less today. Also, if the quake had occurred a few hours before it did, with most people sleeping indoors, the casualties would have been much higher. In short, unsafe high-rise buildings killed much more than the earthquake did. The town of Bhuj -- the epicentre of the quake -- has learnt these lessons in a cruel manner at an enormous cost. Over 100 high-rise apartment buildings built during the last five years have either been reduced to a rubble or declared unsafe.

Similar is the situation in Rapar, Bhachau and other talukas of the Kutch region. Even Ahmedabad -- far away from the epicentre -- has suffered widespread damage in the form of collapse of buildings. In fact, a decision has been taken by the civic authorities in Ahmedabad to raze to the ground about 20 "condemned" buildings. Such decisions will also have to be taken in other cities that were devastated by the quake. Other buildings, which have developed major cracks, will have to be strengthened. Indeed, their foundations need to be reinforced and retrofitted. Especially vulnerable have been the multi-storied apartments which had become quite popular with the urban middle classes in recent years. Most of them invest their entire life's savings into an apartment or end up taking heavy loans to purchase one. Since 95 per cent of such structures are reportedly uninsured, most people, other than losing their relatives and friends, have ended up losing their entire life's savings. Today many of them have no othershelter.

The quake is a natural calamity, but unsafe construction is not. Those who made a kill (in terms of moolah) out of construction that ended up killing people must be held guilty and tried on criminal charges. Incidentally, the president of the Bhuj Municipal Corporation has admitted to this newspaper, the collective guilt that local authorities feel today after witnessing the death and the devastation. There must be inquiries into the illegal activities of the builders' mafia and the authorities who were bribed when the laws were broken with impunity. In fact, if the inquiry process takes long, even suo motu action can be taken against the culprits who have blatantly violated the Indian Standard Institution's norms for building structures. For those who feel there is no such precedent, in southern California, the courts argued that builders constructing structures in seismic zones have to be held responsible for building failures during an earthquake, and they cannot simply escape by saying it was God's will.Other than criminal proceedings, there should be a civil suit against the mafia in Gujarat. They must be made to pay for the rebuilding costs, estimated to be as high as Rs 10,000 to 25,000 crore.