IMPHAL, Feb 18: Editors’ Guild Manipur organised a one-day seminar on the topic “Earthquake Resistant Building in Manipur” at Hotel Classic here today.
The seminar was attended by Commissioner (Works) K Radhakumar as chief guest; president of Editors’ Guild Manipur, A Mobi as president; Chief Engineer of PWD M Loken and Chief Town Planner N Geetkumar as guests of honour.
Addressing the gathering, K Radhakumar stated that earthquake is a natural phenomenon that people cannot get rid of by any means.
Saying that the Manipur is earthquake prone area, he recalled that way back in 1960 the State had its own way of house construction but many of the traditional houses were vanished with the introduction of western style of house construction.
He said that there were hardly any meaningful discussion between engineer, architect and head mistry at the time of construction of a house. In constructing a house, the role of masons is of paramount importance. Therefore, they need to be equipped with latest knowledge about house construction, he noted.
Radhakumar maintained that there are guidelines of Imphal Municipal Corporation (IMC) on house construction in Imphal city but it is questionable whether the guidelines are followed or not.
People started realising about the importance of the guidelines after the powerful earthquake that shook the State on January 4 of last year, he added. Additional Chief Engineer of PWD, Kh Temba who attended the seminar as resource person presented a powerpoint presentation on relevent topics.
He said that earthquake engineering is a specialised subject that designs and analyzes structures, such as buildings and bridges, with earthquakes in mind.
He elaborated that earthquake resistance and earthquake proof should be kept in mind at the time of construction of a house so as to minimize effects of earthquake.
In order to minimize effects of earthquake, structure of a house should be simple and symmetrical. Foundation and column of the house should be made strong, he added.
Pointing out common mistakes committed in house construction in the State, Temba said that engineer, architect and head mistry should consult house owner at the time of construction.
Professor of Earth Science Department, Manipur University, Arun who was also present at the seminar said that no one can predict occurence of earthquake but one should be aware of precautionary measures to cope with the natural calamity.
He said that effects of earthquake is directly related with depth of epicentre.
He informed that a well-equipped geophysical station had alraedy been opened at Manipur University with the assistance of the Central Government.
The Professor also presented a powerpoint presentation on earthquake.
Today’s seminar was also attended by Associate Professor of NIT Imphal, Dr Suresh as resource person who delivered lecture on the topic.
Source: The Sangai Express
