SHIMLA: Earthquake experts today emphasised on construction of safe buildings and adequate preparedness to mitigate the effects of disasters, natural or man-made.
Speaking at media workshop on 'Disaster Management and Preparedness' here, they agreed on the opinion that "earthquakes do not kill people, but unsafe buildings do".
The workshop was organised by Indian Media Centre in association with the district administration and A P Goyal (APG) Shimla University. It was inaugurated by former Governor of Nagaland and Manipur, Ashwani Kumar, who is presently Pro- Chancellor of the APG University.
Kumar said haphazard construction activities being carried out in Shimla was a real cause of concern for the everyone.
An unsafe building structure is not a threat for the inmates in the wake of earthquake but also disastrous for the buildings in the vicinity, he said.
As the entire Himachal Pradesh falls under seismic zones IV and V, it was imperative that a pro-active approach be adopted for disaster preparedness, he said.
The media should highlight the issue in right perspective and the governmental agencies also need to organise mock drills in rural areas as well as towns, he added.
Vice-Chancellor of the university, Anand S Goyal, said unsafe structures and unscientific buildings are "death traps" in the events of earthquakes and constructing earthquake-proof and earthquake-resistant buildings should be an integral part of preparedness plans.
He said building constructions were regulated under IS codes which everyone should adhere to.
Divisional Commandant, Civil Defence and Home Guards, Anuj Tomar focussed on the role of government machinery in such eventualities.
Group Editor of Dainik Nayay Setu Sushil Kumar, briefed about the media perspective on the reporting of such events which should be ethical and in accordance with the laid down code of conduct for the media.