Thaindian News

Agartala/Aizawl/Guwahati, Sep 20 (IANS) In wake of Sunday’s 6.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked large parts of north, east and northeastern India and neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal, the northeastern states are reviewing their preparedness to deal with any such disaster.

According to the officials, chief ministers and chief secretaries of Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura held separate review meetings in their respective state capitals Monday and Tuesday and decided to improve the existing infrastructure to deal with any such situation.

In Agartala, the cabinet headed by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar Tuesday reviewed the preparedness of the state to deal with any earthquake like situation.

Relief and Finance Minister Badal Choudhury said: “Central government should set up at least one station in each capitals of all the eight northeastern states with adequate number of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) personnel.”

“A team comprising 45 troopers would be constituted in each of the 13 Tripura State Rifles battalions and they would be trained in disaster management,” Choudhury told IANS.

The Tripura government has also decided to procure modern equipment and machinery to take care of the post quake disasters.

Assam Chief Secretary N.K. Das Monday also held a review meeting with the officials of the Guwahati development department, Guwahati Municipal Corporation, public works department (roads and buildings) and the meteorological department.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh have also held similar assessment meetings in Aizawl and Imphal respectively and directed the officials to review the preparedness on the spot and take precautionary steps to deal with any eventualities.

“The Mizoram chief minister has asked the district magistrates of all the eight districts to make preventive measures to cope with the post quake situation,” a state government official told reporters in Aizawl.

The quake, which had its epicentre in Sikkim, killed at least 68 people and injured over 300. The maximum deaths (50) were in Sikkim, while 12 people died in contiguous areas of West Bengal. Six deaths were reported from Bihar.

No major casualties were so far reported from seven northeastern sates except Sikkim.

However, there were some reports of minor damage in concrete houses in the region.

The Geological Survey of India had earlier notified that mountainous northeastern region could experience a devastating earthquake as the region, according to seismologists, falls in zone V, the sixth worst quake-prone belt in the world.

Assam experienced a massive tremor measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale Aug 15, 1950, that claimed some 1,500 lives.

The worst quake, measuring 8.7 was felt in the region in 1897. It killed 1,600 people.