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Dear Colleagues:

I will begin with an apology that some of you faced difficulty
in getting the soft copy of the draft code. I hope the problem is
resolved now; however, if there are still some difficulties,
kindly do not hesitate to let us know atcodes@iitk.ac.inand we will send
a soft copy by email.

I wish to share with you my thoughts on the significance of such a code.

The 2001 Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat was one of the most tragic earthquake
events
in our country in the last one century and yet it provided the country with
unprecedented opportunities for safety against future earthquakes.
Generally,
it was seen that where the country had done preparation apriory, it was
possible to
take actions after the earthquake. And, where we lacked preparation, the
opportunity
created by the earthquake was either missed or could not be fully utilized.

After the earthquake, numerous individuals and organizations became
concerned about
safety of their own buildings and wanted their buildings retrofitted.
But, due to a lack of well developed methodology,
the engineering profession could not respond well to this newly created
situation.

More than three years after the earthquake, there is still some interest in
地震
assessment and retrofitting of buildings and such a document is critical for
meeting
such demands. However, more importantly, should there be another tragic
earthquake
in the country in the near future, availability of a well developed
methodology (and familiarity
of structural engineers with the methodology)will ensure that we are able to
更好地应对这种情况。显然,标志ificance of such a
document is
enormous from the view point of seismic safety in our country.

We therefore are keen to have you look at the document and to share your
thoughts,
suggestions and concerns on the same so that these could be included in the
next
revision of the draft code.

With best regards,

Sudhir K. Jain
Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur 208 016, India

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