Parl panel warns of major quakes in Garhwal-Kumaon

A parliamentary committee has warned of “major” earthquakes in the Garhwal-Kumaon belt of Uttarakhand citing that since less than 50 per cent of the Himalayan arc has ruptured over the past 200 years the release of the energy trapped in the unbroken segments could lead to big quakes.Earthquake occurrences in the Himalayan region are due to convergence between the Indian and Eurasian plates.

In response to queries of the parliamentary committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forest, Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences told the panel that an Earthquake Early Warning System in Uttarakhand is being undertaken. The warning time will range from a few seconds to a little less than a minute. The Gharwal Kumaon Himalaya of Uttarkhand has a high seismic hazard potential.He, however, added that it was unknown when will the accumulated strain energy be released through a great or major earthquake. Elaborating on the earthquake early warning system, Nayak told the committee that 100 sensors will be installed in IIT Roorkee.

“These sensors will detect the ground motion radiating from an earthquake rupture and estimate the resulting in ground shaking that will occur later either at the same location or some other location,” he added.The committee also recommended establishing an institutional mechanism for better planning, forecasting and SOPs (standard operating procedures) for dealing with a catastrophe of earthquake. 

In another report  the committee has expressed concern over the unprecedented floods in the context of climate change in Srinagar and failure of warning and forecasting of floods system. It has recommended that dredging/desilting of water bodies should be undertaken on war-footing so that carrying/holding capacity of their water bodies can be enhanced. 

The old Drainage system of Srinagar should be replaced with new drainage system that could cope up with future exigencies. Central Government should sanction a suitable and adequate relief package to the State Government and actively engage with the State Administration to bring relief to the people. 

In its report, the committee has expressed concern over environmental pollution in leh.  The committee has recommended  that in order to mitigate the menace, the State Government should constitute an expert group to study ways and means to reconcile the growth of tourism in the district with the imperatives of preserving the ecology.