The heart wrenching survivors of the earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey shows the real scale of devastation with the official death count now crossing 17,000 within four days. Help is pouring in from all over the world and at the same time it is a stark reminder of how nature can wreak havoc to adjust itself through various forms.
One major earthquake prone zone in India is the whole Himalayan belt ranging from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. In the name of the tourism boom, hundreds of towns in the ecologically sensitive region have seen unprecedented constructions without any regard for earthquake norms.
If any tragedy strikes, like how it did in the past, it will be a monumental one because of the high population density in those areas now. Unless the norms for building code are strictly implemented, we may be sitting on a time bomb. We still haven't learnt from the Nepal tragedy of 2015 still and it is foolhardy to ignore the warning signs of a major earthquake that may strike Himalayas anytime.
