Nepal earthquake: Bihar always in danger. When will it wake up?

More than 50 people have died in Bihar in the massive earthquake that jolted Nepal, killing thousands and rendering millions homeless in the Himalayan nation. But this has not deterred the people or the state government from coming to the rescue of their neighbours-in-grief.

Relief camps have sprung up overnight in the small town of Raxaul with volunteers and social workers lining up to help people traumatised by the tremors from across the border.

The Nepal earthquake took place barely five days after a cyclonic storm had ripped apart several districts of Bihar, leaving several people dead. It came as a twin tragedy in the state at a time when relief to the cyclone victims was still being provided.

Bihar has emerged as a vulnerable spot for all kinds of natural calamities in recent years. From floods and droughts to cyclones and earthquakes, it has faced them all at regular intervals. But each calamity appears to be bigger than the previous one despite massive relief-and-rescue operations undertaken by the government.

To make things worse, people here seem to be least prepared to face them. Chief minister Nitish Kumar believes that the worst is yet to come, given the topography of the state. He said that it was sheer providence that the epicentre of the quake was in the mountainous region of Nepal. "It can very well be imagined what would have happened had it been in the plains of Bihar," he said.

Kumar apparently wants the people of one of the most vulnerable seismic zones in the country to learn a lesson from the Nepal earthquake.

The CM wants them to start building earthquake-resistant houses like the Japanese do - to minimise damage in the event of tremors. In fact, he has been saying for long that about five lakh people might die if a major quake jolts Patna in future. But nobody appears to have paid heed to his warnings.

The state government has been running a campaign to underline this need for several years. It has also offered to provide training to engineers, architects and masons through experts, but only a few have shown interest. As a result, constructions of apartments, private houses and government buildings are still going on in the most haphazard manner. Dozens of multi-storey apartments are being built in flagrant disregard of the norms laid down for the quake-resistant structures in Patna and other cities.

The situation is no better in rural Bihar. Five years ago, the state government had come up with an innovative model of low cost, eco-friendly bamboo houses for the Kosi flood victims who had been rendered homeless in 2008. Built at the cost of Rs 55,000 each, the houses were designed on the pattern of an urban, two-storey duplex house expected to last 40 years.

Those structures were not only earthquake-resistant but also termite and water-proof, thus aimed at saving people from recurring floods and cyclones in the area. But such houses could not be built for the poor, apparently because of the dearth of funds. Today, the majority of the poor continue to live in mud houses under tin roofs. Every time a cyclone strikes, the galvanised iron sheets covering the houses get uprooted, causing fatal injuries.

Yet, nobody has given them up. In fact, the cyclone victims get back to rebuilding their homes with the same iron sheets once the storm is over. This is obviously due to the lack of awareness among people. Most of them are poor and illiterate, and unaware of the various government campaigns on safety measures.

Relief-and-rescue operations, howsoever efficiently run, can provide only temporary relief in vulnerable areas. It's the growing awareness among people to deal with the situation arising out of a disaster that will reduce the loss of human lives and property.