Sir,
The strong earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter which has killed more than five thousand people in the Himalayan state of Nepal and left many more wounded, has once again exposed the vulnerability of the Himalayan and SubHimalayan region to natural disasters, particularly earthquakes.
The fact that this region is vulnerable to quakes should make the governments of this region devise measures for quick relief and rescue operations should such a calamity strike this region in future.It will be worthwhile if the countries located in the Himalayan and Sub- Himalayan region which are more to earthquakes institute a joint calamity fund for the help of the affected people of these countries.Massive awareness programmes also need to be launched across all the countries prone to eartquake and other natural calamities to enlighten the people regarding the need to construct earthquake resistent houses and carrying out relief and rescue operations in case an earthquake hits a particular region.
Rigorous criteria should be prescribed for issuing No Objection Certificate to the builders of multistorey buildings.There is also need to impart rigorous training to the personnel of NDRF and other Disaster Management teams. There should be effective early warning system to sound warning of natural disasters so that people are evacuated to safe places well in time.Hospitals should be well equipped to treat the wounded patients in such times.Well, we cannot prevent an earthquake from occuring but we can certainly minimise the loss of life and property during such a calamity by taking the precautionary measures.
Yours etc…
Ashok Sharma
Jammu
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