Tripura government plans to provide trained manpower, technology and affordable retrofitting support to individual homeowners to make vulnerable houses earthquake resilient, with focus on seismic safety, capacity building and reducing risks to lives and property.
The Tripura government has initiated steps to make trained manpower and appropriate technology available to individual homeowners for assessing and strengthening vulnerable residential structures against earthquakes. The initiative aims to promote affordable seismic retrofitting and improve the safety of households across the state.
A senior official of the Revenue Department said the government is focusing on capacity building of engineers, agencies, planners and other professionals involved in retrofitting and earthquake-resilient construction. Once trained manpower and technology are available, individual homeowners will be able to access structural vulnerability assessments and retrofitting services at affordable costs.
Revenue Department Secretary Dr Milind Ramteke shared the details while addressing a workshop titled “Training and Capacity Building Programme for Individual Housing Seismic Retrofitting” at Pragya Bhavan in Agartala.
According to Dr Ramteke, the first phase of the initiative will concentrate on developing the technical capacity required for seismic retrofitting. He said trained professionals would subsequently help individual household owners identify structural vulnerabilities and undertake suitable retrofitting measures.
“The new structures that are coming in recent times are RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) structures but that was not the case always,” Dr Ramteke said. He also pointed out that provisions relating to individual retrofitting were introduced through an amendment to the municipal Act in 2015.
The Revenue Department Secretary highlighted the financial aspect associated with seismic retrofitting, noting that strengthening existing buildings can require significant investment. The government’s proposed approach is therefore aimed at ensuring that homeowners can access technical expertise and technology at affordable costs.
Dr Ramteke also stressed the importance of taking precautionary measures before an earthquake occurs. He said vulnerable household structures could pose a serious risk to residents during a major seismic event, particularly because people spend a considerable amount of time inside their homes.
“Loss of property can be covered up or compensated but loss of lives is irreversible,” he said, underlining the need for preventive measures and structural safety.
Referring to available household data, Dr Ramteke said around 44 percent of households in Tripura have mud walls, while about 30 percent have brick-wall structures. The remaining houses, according to the data cited by him, are bamboo structures.
He noted that bamboo structures have a high degree of flexibility and may not be impacted in the same manner as more rigid structures during an earthquake. However, the varying construction types across the state make structural assessment and appropriate retrofitting measures important for improving household safety.
Dr Ramteke further explained that earthquakes require a different approach to disaster preparedness compared with disasters that people in Tripura are more familiar with, such as cyclones, storms and flash floods.
While communities have developed awareness of the warning signs and response mechanisms associated with several weather-related disasters, earthquakes can strike with little warning and may cause significant damage to vulnerable buildings.
The government’s focus on training engineers, planners and agencies is therefore expected to strengthen the technical foundation for seismic safety. Making trained manpower and suitable technology accessible to individual homeowners could also help encourage more households to assess their buildings and undertake necessary retrofitting measures.
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The initiative places emphasis on preparedness, capacity building and structural strengthening as part of efforts to reduce the potential impact of earthquakes on lives and property in Tripura.
