A team of experts from the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has begun an initial survey to do a seismic micro-sonation mapping for the entire Bhubaneswar Development Plan Area (BDPA). Bhubaneswar is a leading city in the country to be taken for such a survey by the Ministry.
To facilitate the survey, the State Government has formed a committee under the chairmanship of the BDA Vice-Chairman so that the seismic (related to earthquake) mapping of the entire plan area under the BDA jurisdiction would be done effectively.
The high-level team also consists of the Bhubaneswar ADM, a member from IIT Bhubaneswar, City Engineer, BMC, and a senior official from the Science and Technology Department. A preliminary meeting was held in the BDA office where the initial planning was chalked out.
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 after dividing the plan area into a grid.
It can be mentioned that the BDPA is in Seismic Zone-III, but now the risks are multiplied with two possible fault lines passing through the geological area.
This study would be immensely beneficial for the city as it would be a guiding factor to regulate construction activities from disaster management and preparedness points of view.