The traditional architectural practices are being ignored in Uttarakhand though various studies cite elements of seismic safety in the State’s traditional architecture with four to five storied traditional homes surviving many earthquakes.
With the Government being unable to facilitate further work on such traditional construction practices, other institutions across sectors too appear uninterested in capitalising on this traditional knowledge.
A report published by the Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (DMMC) in 2007 on assessing impact of earthquake safety initiatives in Uttarakhand had revealed that traditional construction practices for ensuring earthquake safety are being forgotten due to the onslaught of new construction practices.
The report of the study conducted in Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts States, “evidences suggest relatively early evolution of the elements of earthquake safe construction in the region. Magnificent four to five storied structures can still be observed in Yamuna and Bhagirathi valleys.
These have survived many earthquakes and lack of earthquake safety elements would have razed these to ground. For erecting such multistoried houses thick wooden logs were set through the entire length of each of the walls alternately with heavy stones; at the corners the edges of the pair of logs on the adjacent walls are joined together by hammering thick wooden nails through them; all the windows, doorways, ventilators and floor- joists were joined to these well-secured pairs of logs to further strengthened the structure. There was a tradition of carefully selecting the construction site and detailing the various foundation related aspects.
The foundation was dug till the hard rock or a large boulder was reached. According to the tradition the foundation should have witnessed seven monsoons before the construction. This helped in minimising ground subsidence after the construction,” states the report.
However, as stated in the report, the traditional construction practice that had many elements of earthquake safety has been relegated to the back seat with the onslaught of cement based modern construction practice.
The traditional stone —wood based construction has been abandoned in the region and cement is being utilised for most new constructions without appropriate technological interventions which is bound to jeopardise seismic safety of the populations.
“Positive aspects of the traditional architecture and construction practices need to be studied, researched, documented and improvised upon to evolve a more appropriate, cost effective and acceptable construction option. Department of Disaster Management should support and encourage initiatives on these lines. Improvisation upon the traditional practices has the potential of putting forth cost effective and acceptable models of earthquake safe construction in the region,” the report had recommended.
However, the State Government has been unable to do much in this direction. According to the DMMC executive director Piyoosh Rautela, universities, public institutions and institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology can play a major role in study and facilitation of required improvisations in traditional construction practices that enhance seismic safety.