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Chintels collapse: All Gurugram high-rises to undergo quake safety audit

Gurugram DC’s order comes a week after two people get crushed under falling high-rise

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Tribune News Service

Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, February 18

Rattled by the Chintel Paradiso partial tower collapse, the Gurugram Disaster Management Authority, headed by Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar, has ordered a safety audit of all high-rises.

The city falls in Seismic Zone 4, second-most earthquake threatened zone, with around 2,000 registered high-rises or buildings having more than four floors. There have been numerous complaints of poor construction quality and doubts on the strength of buildings, with complainants worried about the fate of all structures in case of a quake.

"Ensuring safe living is our priority at the moment. We are in an earthquake sensitive zone and wish to ensure that Chintel-type incident is never repeated, so we will check each high rise. It will take time but will be worth it. We are identifying agency for the same," said Yadav.

The city, according to experts, is at a higher risk than Delhi. While Delhi sits on top of three active seismic fault lines, Gurugram sits at 7, making it the riskiest area in the NCR. If any of these become active, it can cause an earthquake of up to 7.5 magnitude.

A senior administration official said plans were on for such safety audits and the DTP would work on the execution. It was in 2015 when repeated tremors had led to panic amongst the high-rise dwellers and then the administration had ordered a safety audit. The plan never materialised, though a decision was taken that every builder would submit an earthquake safety certificate, ensuring the building was being made as per the disaster management mandate. This, however, never took off.

It was in 2020 when the Delhi NCR was hit by 17 earthquakes in three months. The DC Gurugram had gone ahead with footer notes on all sale and purchase deeds and registries, warning the people about the city being in Seismic Zone 4. An advisory was issued to mandatorily consult a structural engineer in this regard, but nothing happened.

It was in 1960 that an earthquake with epicentre along the Delhi-Gurgaon border of 6.2 magnitude had damaged nearly 200 structures and killed and injured several people. The area of Gurugram was then sparsely inhabited, with just a few mud houses and two people were reported dead and some injured.

 Areas under Seismic Zone 4

The entire city falls under the seismic zone 4. Apart from the Jaipur depression, many normal faults pass through Gurugram. The major tectonic features in Gurugram district include Sohna Fault, Moradabad Fault, Delhi-Moradabad Fault, Delhi-Haridwar Fault, junction of Aravalli and Alluvium near Delhi.

 

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