Tripura to ban construction of high-rise buildings

AGARTALA, February 4: The Tripura Government has decided to ban construction of high-rise buildings following the devastating earthquake in Gujarat, reports UNI. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar today said his Government would not allow construction of more than three-storied buildings in the State. However, the existing high-rise buildings in the State would not be disturbed, he added. A high-level meeting would be held here tomorrow to finalise measures and legal actions to be taken to ban construction of high-rise buildings in the State. The State Government was concerned over the GSI report which stated that the Northeastern State falls within the high seismic zone of the country, he observed. Meanwhile, the Institutions of Engineers (IEI) had recommended some measures for construction of earthquake-proof houses in the Northeastern region, which forms the highest-risk zone among the country's five earthquake-prone zones. The IEI submitted their recommendations to the Centre and the Tripura Government, following a three-day seminar on building construction with special reference to the Northeast. Noted engineers and the World Federation of Engineers Organisations vice-president GP Lal said here that the Indian sub-continent was among the world's most vulnerable earthquake-prone areas as nearly 55 per cent of the land was vulnerable to quakes. The Northeastern region forms the most severe seismic region of the world and data available indicated that the region had experienced more than 350 tremors of magnitude 5 and above, out of which 15 had magnitude seven or more on the Richter scale.