The State Government has set up a committee headed by BDA Vice-Chairman Kishan Kumar to provide required support to a team of the Ministry of Earth Sciences in conducting a seismic micro-zonation mapping for the entire Bhubaneswar Development Plan Area (BDPA).
According to reports, the team of experts has started the initial survey for the purpose.
The committee would help in earthquake mapping of the entire plan area under the BDA jurisdiction, an official said. The other members of the team are Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Bhubaneswar, an expert from IIT Bhubaneswar, the City Engineer of the BMC and a senior official from the Science and Technology Department.
The survey is required as the BDPA falls under Seismic Zone-III. However, the risks have multiplied with two possible fault lines passing through the geological area.
“This study will be immensely beneficial for the city in regulating construction activities and making disaster management more vibrant, said the official. Meanwhile, the BDA held a meeting and chalked out the initial planning.
The expert team might need to enter a premise or compound to do the study as they have taken some 1,100-odd points from the entire BDPA area after dividing the plan area into a grid.