Urban News

The Hindu       26.11.2010

People to ink their own plans for disaster management

VIJAYAWADA: Generally, when the sun is shining and life is going good, very few people like to learn about disaster management plans. But, it was not the case when a three-day awareness programme on urban risk reduction was organised by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) in the city.

More than 120 children eagerly participated in the awareness activity, and equally enthusiastic were elders. They were, apparently, motivated by some of the life saving tips like preparation of a boat using empty pet bottles, dry coconuts or plastic drums, doled out at the awareness programme.

The result: vulnerable communities will prepare an action plan for their division while city disaster management plan would be ready by the end of 2011. And, it is vulnerability that inspired them to march towards disaster plans. As many as 37 divisions out of the total 59 divisions in the city have been identified as vulnerable in some aspect or the other. If it is landslide in a division, Budameru flood is a problem in another division, while low lying is a challenge for some others.

About 10 to 15 people from each division showed interest in preparing disaster management plans for their division. Of them, 2 to 3 volunteered to be part of 35-member teams of their respective VMC circles. The steering committee would be constituted shortly to prepare these action plans. By the end of next month, the committees would initiate the process that includes identification of weaknesses and strengths of their community. As part of the plans, they would also identify the resources and opportunities available in their division. All these form part of documentation and mapping, says N. Usha, UNDP Urban Risk Reduction Project Coordinator in the VMC.

Every vulnerable division would have its own plan, while this information forms basis for city mapping and plan.

Indian Express  25.11.2010

High groundwater level affecting buildings, roads in East Delhi

At least three roads have caved in over the past month near Lalita Park — where a building collapsed last week killing 70 people — due to a rise in the groundwater level and overflowing of sewer lines, municipal officials said on Wednesday.

While the underground water level or subsoil water was about eight metres below earlier, it has risen by six metres at places like Lalita Park in recent times, allowing water to percolate and weaken roads and buildings, they said. This information came to light during an inspection of the area by Urban Development Minister and local MLA A K Walia and senior officials.

On November 15, a huge crater was formed at C Block, Laxmi Nagar, when the sewer pipe sank, officials told Walia. A few days ago, a part of the main road of East Enclave and Preet Vihar had also sunk. There are other points like Aaram Park, Parwana Road, Rasheed Market and D-Block, Shakarpur where minor road cave-ins were causing inconvenience to the public.

Newsline found water being pumped out of buildings in Laxmi Nagar and Preet Vihar. However, this did not appear to be a permanent solution as whatever water was drained out re-entered the soil.

V P S Tomar, Chief Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC), said roads and buildings have been collapsing because they were not built strong enough to sustain such a high rise in water levels. “Along with being earthquake resistant, buildings also have to be strong enough to sustain rise in groundwater levels, especially if they are in low lying areas,” he said.

During the inspection on Wednesday, Walia found lots of water still trapped in pushtas (embankments) and expressed concern over the safety of the colonies situated near them. “There is water in basements of houses near the Yamuna bed and this puts people’s lives in danger. I have asked the Irrigation and Flood Control Department to come up with a plan to drain out water from the pushtas,” Walia said. The minister said he will be meeting L-G Tejendra Khanna on Thursday to discuss ways to tackle the problem.