That the National Engineering Services of Pakistan is in the final stage of preparing a new building code to minimise damage from high intensity earthquake is reported to have been revealed by its Managing Director, Chaudhry Karamatullah recently.
This he did while making a presentation on the rehabilitation and reconstruction schemes in the earthquake affected areas at a meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Water and Power, Liaquat Ali Jatoi. It will be recalled that the last year's traumatic shaking of mountainous areas in the NWFP, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and adjacent areas up to Islamabad, resulted in killing an estimated 73,000 people and destruction or damage to towns and villages spread over 28,000 square kilometres.
Needles to point out, the magnitude of that calamity was so severe that it shook the conscience of the world and prompted a rush of rescue and relief workers from far and near. However, colossal being the task of reconstruction, it was assigned to a new entity, the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority, which has been pursuing it with the resources at its disposal.
However, the sudden collapse of a quite a large number of modern imposing buildings, housing families and government offices, awakened all those who matter to the glaring neglect of the need for a building code to ensure against such horrendous happenings.
Reference, in this regard, may be made to registration of cases by Islamabad Police, against builders, contractors, and architect, besides concerned CDA officials, a year ago, in connection with the collapse of the Margalla Tower from the shock of the earthquake.
While the builders, contractors, and architect were alleged to have used substandard material in its construction, action has been taken against CDA officials for irregularities in allotment of land, and violation of laws pertaining to sale and purchase of the faulty apartments.
However, indifference to building laws, as evident right from the very beginning of emphasis on vertical buildings for the homeless, way back in the 1970s, has come to stay as a tradition rather than deviation. But collapse of a number of high-rise buildings in Karachi prompted changes in the building laws and regulations leading to a building code, with due attention to seismic zoning and emphasis on preliminary requirement of soil testing.
This approach, as earlier noted in these columns, had remained confined to Karachi. In so far as Islamabad is concerned, the CDA had no well-defined building code, as such. However building contractors would, on their own, apply the Karachi code, from ideas of competition. It will be noted that Nespak has since come out with a building code for Islamabad, which is being implemented by CDA for new construction in the capital, and which it has also submitted to Erra to ensure its application in the earthquake affected areas.
It is, as such, heartening to learn that Nespak has completed all necessary requirements, including preliminary damage assessment of the area and database of villages in earthquake affected areas as well as seismic studies. More to this, the building code, covering all the regions and major cities, and master plans of major towns in earthquake hit areas, including housing, education and health sectors, have been chalked out too.
Again, as the Nespak MD pointed out, master plan of new Balakot town at another location Bakrial, and Rawalakot has been completed, along with seismic microzoning of Muzaffarabad, Balakot and Bagh, while that for Rawalakot, and Satellite Towns of Muzaffarabad are in progress.
Similarly, his revelation that recommendations for preliminary seismic design parameters and criteria for seismic resistant design of buildings in Islamabad/Rawalpindi area has been completed, and work on similar basis for the whole country is proceeding apace. Encouraged by this performance, one would also hope that the promised infrastructure for new towns will be developed within the shortest timeframe too.