Seismic resistance: Enforcement of building code in hilly areas urged

Project targets the communities housed in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral.

Experts at a workshop discussed building guidelines for seismic resistance and thermal efficiency of buildings in the mountain regions of Pakistan. They stressed the need for legislation on building code and better coordination between public and private sectors in devising a mechanism for implementing the strategy and plan to save life and properties of people, said a press release issued by the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service (AKPBS).

The workshop had been organized by the AKPBS in collaboration with the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) in Islamabad on Tuesday.

PEC Additional Registrar Dr Ashfaq Ahmed noted that the building guidelines developed by AKPBS and PEC will be a key contribution for reducing the risk to the life and properties of the people of G-B.

He accentuated the need to work together to devise an implementation plan and facilitate the legislation of the guidelines in G-B and Chitral. He added the proposed guidelines would supplement the building regulations for the region.

The workshop was organised as part of a four-year project “Promotion of Energy Efficient Cooking, Heating and Housing Technologies” being implemented in nine valleys of the G-B and Chitral.

The project aims to curb the degradation of forests in the target region and decrease carbon dioxide emissions resulting from excessive use of timber and fuel-wood for house construction and household energy use in these areas.

The G-B and Chitral regions fall in relatively high activity seismic zones.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2013.