Saqib Junaid
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, May 19: While experts predicting a massive quake in future, the state government is not prepared to deal with any natural calamity. For the last two years, the state was hit by several natural disasters from 2014 September floods to snow avalanche in January, land sliding and many earthquakes in the recent past.
According to the Meteorological department's data, the state was shaken nine times by earthquakes in 2009, then six times in 2010, and seven times in 2011. In 2012, the number went up to eleven, and in 2013 the number of earthquakes doubled to twenty-five, and fell to nineteen in 2014. In 2015, twenty-seven earthquakes were recorded, of which nineteen were significant and eight were minor, recording around four 4 on the Richter scale.
Ironically, the government does not seem to have learned any lessons as it has failed to equip the agencies which could deal with these disasters to mitigate sufferings of people at a time when any natural calamity hit the state.
The researchers, YannGavillot, a doctoral student at OSU, and Andrew Meigs, a Geology professor at the same university after studying the new geologic mapping in the Himalayan Mountains, pointed towards a possibility of a major earthquake. "Scientists have known about the Reasi fault in Indian Kashmir, but it wasn't thought to be as much as a threat as other, more active fault systems. However, following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in 2005 on the nearby Balakot-Bagh fault in the Pakistan side of Kashmir - which was not considered particularly dangerous because it wasn't on the plate boundary - researchers began scrutinizing other fault systems in the region," they said.
"What they found is that the Reasi fault has been building up pressure for some time, suggesting that when it does release or slip the resulting earthquake may be large - as much as magnitude 8.0 or greater. It's not a question of if it's going to happen. It's a matter of when," they added.
"There is direct evidence of some seismic activity on the fault, where the researchers could see displacement of the Earth where an earthquake lifted one section of the fault five or more meters - possibly about 4,000 years ago. Written records from local monasteries refer to strong ground-shaking over the past several thousand years," they said. Gavillot said the earthquake at the Reasi fault could have a major impact on winter capital of the State, which has a population of about 1.5 million people. Another 700,000 people live in towns located right on the fault. According to the disaster management plan report, 13 districts in J&K out of 100 districts in India have been identified as 'multi hazard districts' and has called for pro-active, holistic and comprehensive approach towards disaster risk reduction and management. The report says that most parts of Kashmir valley covering the districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Budgam, Anantnag and parts of Jammu, Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar come under Seismic Zone V and are prone to earthquakes. While as areas along major highways particularly Ramban, Panthial, Banihal, Doda, Kishtwar, Gulmarg, Dawar, Gurez, Tangdhar, Rajouri are landslide prone. During winters, the regions mostly face disasters like snow avalanche, land sliding due to its peculiar topography, rugged terrain and extreme weather conditions.
Moreover the National Disaster Management Authority in its memo last year also mentioned the current trend of constructions in the state "alarming". The state's vulnerability to natural disasters clearly indicates that there is a dire need of having well equipped agencies to deal with natural disasters.
In July last year, the state Cabinet approved state's first-ever disaster management plan. The government had said the plan is aimed at reducing the state's vulnerability to hazards and enhance human and institutional capabilities to cope with disasters and natural calamities in a more effective manner.
Sources said despite having passed over a year, there has been no progress in implementation of the disaster management plan. "No work has been started for its implementation and it has been confined to papers," an official of Revenue and Rehabilitation department said. |
