NBA: Quake is reservoir induced
Narmada Bachao Andolan activists on Sunday claimed that the earthquake at the Narmada dam site in Kevadia colony was a dangerous portend and it could go the Koyna dam way that left at least 200 people dead in the 1967 earthquake.

However, Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited authorities ruled out any possibility of Koyna type incident as claimed by the NBA.

The NBA on Monday said that reports of minor tremors are misleading and more severe quakes could follow at the site leading to unprecedented disaster. It said that the tremor on Sunday was reservoir-induced earthquake (RIE) and the mighty Narmada dam is prone to high intensity quakes, according to Mr M.K.Sukumar the NBA activist at Baroda.

The activists are now comparing the Narmada dam with Koyna dam located near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra. It may be recalled that the Koyna earthquake on December 10, 1967 was of 6.3 magnitude on the Richter scale which claimed over 200 lives and injured over 1,500 and rendering thousands homeless.

The NBA also said that the ministry of environment and forest had asked the Narmada Control Authority in December 1990 to seek fresh clearance on eight important studies pertaining to the dam including seismicity., No such clearance has been obtained by the SSNNL yet.

Referring to a research paper of a geologist Harsh Gupta of the Department of Science and technology in New Delhi, the Baroda based NBA activists stated that the Koyna earthquake was induced by pressure on land created by the structure of dam and water reservoir. The increased pressure on land had caused the reservoir-induced earthquake at Koyna that might occur at Narmada dam, the activists said.

However, the SSNNL director (Canals) S.J. Desai told The Asian Age: "The earthquake on Sunday was not reservoir-induced as the epicentre of tremor was about 58 km away from the dam site. The Dam safety committee and the dam review committee appointed by the World Bank and Narmada Control Authority had studied the safety parameters of the dam before approving the design of the dam."

He added, "The reservoir-induced earthquake is a geological theory and has not been proved yet. There are at least 300 big dams worldwide. The NBA had raised the issue in the Supreme Court and we could convince the SC on this and sought permission for the required height of dam’s construction."

The geologists in Baroda also claimed that the tremor on Sunday was not a RIE, as tremors were observed in Japan, Bangladesh and in parts of North East India too.

However, a Baroda based geologist maintained that the area of Narmada especially near Jabalpur is one of the major earthquake prone areas. The region has been experiencing earthquakes of different magnitudes in the past, the recent example being the May 21, 1997 Jabalpur earthquake of 6 magnitude. However, the earthquake of more than 6.5 magnitude scale in this area is unlikely, stated the geologist.

However, the NBA in Baroda said it would demand an independent study on effects of Sunday’s earthquake on the dam.

The NBA claimed that the ministry of environment and forest had asked the Narmada Control Authority in December 1990 to seek fresh clearance on eight important studies pertaining to the dam including seismicity. If the NBA is believed, no such clearance has been obtained by the SSNNL yet.

The NBA stating the observation of the National geophysical research institute director Dr Harsh Gupta claimed that the dam also might have been responsible for the Gujarat quake of 2001. Dr Gupta had observed that the extension of the fault zone of Narmada-Son lineament might be responsible for the Gujarat quake that had released 900 per cent more energy than the Latur quake.

Republished from The Asian Age