Jammu sits on major fault line

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 27

At first glance, Jammu looks like any other city with massive construction activity and expanding urban population, but the home to 15 lakh people is sitting on a ticking time bomb. A major seismic fault line passes beneath Gujjar Nagar and the Tawi, which can spell doom in case of a major earthquake.

Despite a close shave with the devastating earthquake in October 2005, the disaster management preparation leaves much to be desired. There is no check on unauthorised construction and the civic authorities are not conducting a seismic assessment survey before giving permission for private and government buildings.

Experts said most parts of the old city were under the threat of massive devastation as illegal construction near Circular Road, Gujjar Nagar, Panjthirthi, Peer Kho, Jain Bazar, Pir Mitha, Residency Road, Krishna Nagar and Rajinder Bazaar, having a major concentration of the population, could suffer maximum damage.

“The two major urban centres — Srinagar and Jammu — fall under the high-risk zone. The problem with Jammu is that a major part of the city is concentrated on a small hilly patch, which has the highest concentration of the population,” said a municipal official.

Houses built on hillocks having a weak foundation can spell disaster. The case of hilly districts of the region is the same as an earthquake can lead to massive landslides, destroying villages.

“The urban planning is faulty. We get the jitters looking at construction on slopes on the entire stretch from Gujjar Nagar bridge to Panjtirthi. Even the construction on hilly Poonch and Rajouri districts and the erstwhile Doda district, too, is a cause for concern,” said Prof GM Bhat, a geologist and an earthquake researcher.

Officials said civic bodies and successive state governments had remained in slumber over preparing a roadmap to deal with the illegal construction had been allowed without conducting any seismic survey.

“Giving permission for construction is within the domain of the municipality. Its bylaws do not give the power to stop construction. There are some vulnerable points in the city, but shifting the population needs a major policy decision,” said Soujanya Sharma, Jammu MC Commissioner.