Department of ArchitectureHousing & Transportation

Guided By , Prepared By ,

Mr. Purvish Panchal Harsh M. Khirsaria

Miral B. Kaloliya Umang V. Bhensdadia

Housing of Indraprastha (Dudhai)- Kutch

Introduction

Dudhai is a showcase for a comprehensive approach to managing area that affected by disaster, establishing the best practices for relief and temporary shelter followed by permanent shelter. Conceived in the wake of the January 2001 Gujarat earthquake, this approach was extended by the NGO Rashtriya Swabhiman.

This review is of the post-disaster shelter program in Dudhai, a village in Kutch, in the Indian state of Gujarat. The success of the project may be attributed to the community’s active involvement in the whole process of reconstruction, from decision-making to implementation of the work, and to the NGO’s technical and managerial support and coordination.

Historical Background Dudhai is one of several villages accessible by road from Bhuj, the capital of the district of

Kutch. Covering an area of 45,612 square kilometers, Kutch is the largest district in Gujarat and the largest district in all of India. The district encompasses five main towns – Gandhidham, Bhuj, Anjar, Mandavi and Mundra – and some 960 smaller villages.

Kutch was formerly an independent state, founded in the late thirteenth century by a Rajput named Jada. The Jadeja dynasty ruled not only Kutch but also much of neighboring Kathiawar for several centuries. In 1815, Kutch became a British protectorate and ultimately a princely state whose ruler acknowledged British sovereignty in return for local autonomy.

Housing Typology

1. Unreinforced brick masonry walls with pitched clay tile roof

Buildings of this construction type can be found in all parts of India and neighboring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh.

In India these buildings are commonly found in North, extending from Punjab to West Bengal and Central India, from Haryana to Madhya Pradesh.

These buildings are most commonly found in regions where good quality clay for brick production is abundantly available.

This type of housing construction is commonly found in both rural and urban areas. This construction type has been in practice for more than 200 years.

These buildings are typically found in flat terrain. They do not share common walls with adjacent buildings. When separated from adjacent buildings, the typical distance from a neighboring building is 3 meters.

These buildings are Rectangular, L, and C-shaped in plan. In practice, most public buildings like Schools and Government offices are rectangular or L-shaped.

Residential buildings are generally rectangular in plan. The style and size of openings in the walls have changed with time.

In 50-75 year-old residential buildings, the proportion of openings is comparatively lower than in recently constructed buildings.

The older buildings also have higher ceilings, and the size of individual doors and windows are also larger.

Bhunga house

The traditional Bhunga house has circular mud walls and a thatched roof. Timber frame windows are set at a lower level to draw a cooling breeze over the occupants

while they sleep. The traditional Bhunga requires regular maintenance, which is done by women – a regular

application of lapai or lime plastering to the walls and floor, and the replacement of the dried grass on the roof.

It is said that the Bhunga design was developed following the 1819 earthquake. However, under an urban influence, local people gradually abandoned the Bhunga in favors of houses with cement block walls and reinforced concrete roofs.

Tragedy that change whole thing in Dudhai Village

It was Jan, 2001 India's republic day, when the denizens of this country were making preparations of patriotic reveling and independence-struggle speak, a huge tragedy struck the state of Gujarat.

A massive earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale struck the state, with its epicenter in Bhuj. The earthquake shook the entire country, in Gujarat the damage was near total in Dudhai village.

Caught unaware, people were still in their beds, even before they could fathom and react to the situation, had breathed their last.90% of the state was severely affected and Bhuj district was almost obliterated and flattened.

Death tolls rose faster than one could count and by the end of it all, estimates pointed to the number of casualties around the one hundred thousand mark.

After earthquake

Immediate voluntary help arrived from all over the world in the form of earthquake disaster experts, doctors, paramedics, medicines, food and temporary shelters.

National and International media beamed continuous coverage of a land devastated, people benumbed with shock and agony, a country stunned with the extent and suddenness of it all.

As the world watched in horror, a voluntary organization, Rashtriya Swabhiman, based in Delhi, responded immediately to the crisis. A select team flew into Bhuj, as a first reaction, with a team of doctors and paramedics, medicines and medical aid worth Rs.600,000.

The select team of doctors and paramedics performed 50 major surgical procedures and as many as 150 open air surgeries, in the first two days covering 26 villages, in the district of Bhuj, by January 31 , Rashtriya Swabhiman had already put together a comprehensive plan of rebuilding two villages and rehabilitation its people.

It was the vision of Dr. Sahib Singh Verma, its Chief Patron, that programs were designed for implementation to empower the economically challenged and deprived sections of our country through educations health-care and economically sustainable and self-reliant programs.

100 days Targets completed houses

Setting itself seemingly impossible targets, it was decided that construction of the houses wound be completed in 100 days flat, so as to save the already homeless from the scorching sun and ensuing monsoons.

The master plan provided for each house to have every basic amenity including utensils & electrical gadgets like fans, light bulbs and cooking gas etc.

The plan for Indraprastha was for a population of 6000 to be housed in 65 blocks, each block having 16 houses. The proposed cost of each block added up to Rs. 2.4 million & the total cost to Rs. 150 million including land &construction.

The complete of the project within the deadline of May 31 2001.

Earthquake resistance House

Steel Frame Structure

Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame.

Features of Houses

Concrete Hollow blocks

In this construction system, structurally, each wall and slab behaves as a shear wall and a diaphragm respectively, reducing the vulnerability of disastrous damage to the structure/building, during the natural hazards.

Due to the uniform distribution of reinforcement in both vertical and horizontal directions, through each masonry element, increased tensile resistance and ductile behavior of elements could be achieved.

Hence, this construction system can safely resist lateral or cyclic loading, when compared to other conventional masonry construction systems.

This construction system has also been proved to offer better resistance under dynamic loading, when compared to other conventional systems of construction.

Roof top rain water harvesting Rain Water harvesting is the process of capturing and storage of rain water under ground for

its efficient utilization and conservation. Through this technique, Rain Water may be hamessed at the place of need & may be utilized

at time of need. Roof Top Rain Water Harvesting is an efficient way for augmentation of ground water

resources especially in urban areas.

References

1. http://rashtriyaswabhiman.org2. GramPanchayat- Indraprastha3. Jan Shikshan Santhan(NGO)-Indraprastha

Thank you