Deccan Herald(28-06-2006)
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jun282006/state1737132006627.asp

Govt wakes up, proposes seismographs in 6 places  
 
From P M Raghunandan

Mysore: After a delay of over a decade, the State Government has now woken up and plans to set up seismographic stations to have data during earthquake. State Drought Monitoring Cell is setting up Seismographic stations at six places — Bangalore urban, Bangalore rural, Mysore, Shimoga, Bijapur and Gulbarga — in the State under the first phase of the project, Director of Drought Monitoring Cell V S Prakash told Deccan Herald.

The proposal to set up seismographs in all districts in the State was mooted in 1993, when a devastating earthquake struck Lathur in neighbouring Maharastra, killing thousands of people. The Lathur quake also dispelled the notion that the Deccan Plateau was safe from earthquake. But the proposal, as usual, was put on the back burner. It came to the fore again in 1997 when another earthquake jolted Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Though Karnataka had a small Seismographic station at Gowribidanur in Kolar, it was not effective to monitor the seismic activity for the entire State.
 
Data about tremors

“Seismograph should be installed at least at all districts to get the accurate data about tremors. The proposal in this regard was taken seriously after these two major quakes in the ’90’s,” he explained.

While Mysore and Bijapur stations are now operational, work on the other four stations are underway. Mysore Station is located at Karnataka Engineering Research Station premises off KRS Road and Bangalore station is planned to be located inside Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Campus.

“Talks are on to acquire about nine acres of land in Gulbarga for this purpose and in Shimoga and Bangalore Rural and Bijapur, vibration tests are being conducted,” Mr Prakash added.

He said that Seismographs should be located at the place where noise level is low, so that the seismograph can absorb any above-normal vibration in the earth.

By setting up the stations at all district places, the data (reading of magnitude of tremor) collected of earthquake, if any, will be accurate, he said.

Though a seismograph is capable of sensing tremors anywhere on the earth, the accurate data on the magnitude of the tremor can be obtained only when the seismograph is located within 10 km radius of the epicentre (the point on the earth surface directly above an earthquake), he explained.

Under the II phase of the project, the Drought Monitoring Cell will install stations in all other districts of the State. Mr Prakash, however, said that Karnataka is a rather safe place when it comes to natural calamities like earthquake.

STATIONS

Mysore

Bangalore Urban

Bangalore Rural

Shimoga

Bijapur

Gulbarga