Nepal's devastating quake a wake-up call for Shimla

Shimla: Tremors in the past have failed to shake authorities in Shimla out of their slumber. Nepal's devastating quake may prove to be a timely wake-up call.

The quake-prone erstwhile summer capital of the Raj cannot afford a Himalayan tragedy of the kind that has killed thousands and caused massive destruction in Nepal.

Officials of the Town and Country Planning Department say that Shimla's northern slope of the Ridge, an open space just above the Mall that extends to Grand Hotel in the west and Lakkar Bazaar in the east, is slowly sinking. They blame haphazard and illegal constructions for converting the once scenic seven hills on which this Himachal Pradesh town stands into an ugly concrete jungle.

A high-intensity quake can turn Shimla into a tomb of rubble as it falls in seismic zone IV-V, suggesting severest seismic sensitivity, admitted an official who didn't wish to be identified.

He said 14 major localities in Shimla were located on an average gradient of 70-80 degree slopes where a majority of the buildings infringe bylaws and building norms and haven't even adhered to seismic building norms.

"Most buildings are precariously hanging on steep slopes and clinging to one another. A moderate or high intensity temblor can be catastrophic for congested settlements with no escape routes. They can collapse like a pack of cards," the official added.

Planned for a maximum population of 16,000, Shimla now supports 236,000, as per provisional census figures for 2011.

At present, Shimla has 187 buildings with more than five floors, including a 12-storey commercial building being constructed by Jagson International Ltd, an eight-storey building of Oberoi group's five-star hotel Cecil and a 10-storey building of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

More than 200 public utility buildings comprising hospitals and government schools and colleges within the municipal limits of Shimla required seismic strengthening, the city's deputy mayor Tikender Panwar told IANS.

He said the civic body had been preparing an ambitious Rs.320-crore city development plan, a major component of which is for these earthquake-vulnerable buildings to be retrofitted.

"Shimla hasn't seen any major earthquake in the past one century. But we should be prepared for any natural calamity. We have identified open spaces in all 25 wards within the municipal limits through GPS where people can be evacuated in case of any emergency," Panwar added.

Experts estimate that more than 98 percent buildings in Shimla are highly vulnerable to collapse if there is a major earthquake.

The devastating earthquake in mountainous Nepal has focussed more attention on the vulnerability of such buildings.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report tabled in the assembly this month said the Shimla Municipal Corporation had not adopted any foolproof system to check illegal constructions.

In Sanjauli, a congested locality on Shimla's outskirts, the dead often have to be lifted out of homes with ropes.

Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma said the government was planning to decongest the capital by moving out some government offices to peripheral areas.

The hills of Himachal Pradesh, especially in Kullu, Shimla and Kinnaur districts, are prone to natural disaster like flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides.

According to official data, more than 1,000 people have been killed in flash floods in the state in the past 15 years.