A Case Study in Uttarakhand, Northern India - Geological & Mining ...

etween stirrups of 6-12 inches. Although this was verifiable in a few casesof buildings under construction, the information should not be taken at facevalue. After all, as it may be a case of masons feeling as though they werebeing tested or monitored and therefore reported on the “correct” way ofdoing things. In any case, this attention to detail is a positive sign thatmasons are in the very least aware of what the numbers should be.• As transportation of building materials in the mountainous area ischallenging, most frame structure constructions are found close to roadwaysas they require more materials and complex logistics. A further analysis hasrevealed a correlation between the distance to the nearest road and the typeof construction. In villages at a distance from the nearest road of greaterthan 1 km, 52 % of constructions are load-bearing. In contrast, villages withdirect road access have a proportion of 87 % frame structures.• The 2006 survey showed a dramatic difference in building habits betweenareas with and without PSI trained masons. Overall, 49 % of newly builthouses were safe compared to a mere 5 % in the Semgadhera region.Results from the Almora region confirm these findings and are presentedbelow.3.1.3b Study Area B – Almora districtThe 2006 PSI survey revealed that training of masons in the application ofearthquake-safe features directly translates into a higher percentage ofearthquake-safe houses. Houses in Study Area B were therefore surveyed asrepresentative of an area without mason training. Construction within the last 12months was assessed in the villages of Study Area B.The survey indicates that 23 houses had been built by 23 masons (see Table 3.6).As compared to Study Area A, construction activity is lower by more than 50 % inthe rural regions surroundings Almora, although it should be noted thatThe Role of NGOs in Disaster Mitigation and Response – A Case Study in Uttarakhand, Northern India 64