Himalayas a storehouse of stresses, says earth scientist

The Himalayas were a storehouse of stresses,  responsible for causing earthquakes, say the earth scientists but they categorically reject claims that the earthquakes could be predicted.

“Himalayas are full of stresses...release of the stresses is earthquake and they keep occurring regularly in the region...the common people do not come to know about them as their intensity is too low,” said Lucknow based earth scientist Prof A R Bhattacharya.

While speaking to Deccan Herald here, Prof Bhattacharya said that only the crawling animals could feel the quakes if their intensity was one or two. “Snakes are the most sensitive crawling animal s as far as feeling the quakes is concerned...it can feel a quake with an intensity of only one,” he added.

While he admitted that the Himalayas were vulnerable as far as quakes were concerned, the scientist made it clear that it was not possible to predict them. “No one can predict when and where an earthquake may take place of  what intensity,” he remarked.

The scientist called for demarcation of the quake prone zones in the country and taking up mitigating efforts there. “Geologists can demarcate these zones and the government may take up mitigating efforts there.

Former director of the Northern Region of Geological Survey of India (GSI) V K Joshi also stressed the need to put a check on haphazard construction activities in the quake prone zones in the country. 

“It has been found that many houses in Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, which are one thousand years old, have been made taking into account the quake factor...even the modern day scientists have acknowledged that these houses had been built with quake resistant technology,” Joshi said.