MUMBAI, March 9: The Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra has given Rs 1.6 crore to three institutes - the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIGM), Colaba, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Powai and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) - to buy and install seismo-meters to monitor the seismological behaviour of Thane district. The entire district has been found to have an unusually high level of seismological activity.Moves are also afoot to manufacture ``boll antennas'' in large numbers using a technology developed by Japan. Assistance of the Department of Science and Technology will be taken in this regard.The World Bank is financing part of the scheme through the Department of Science and Technology, as part of the Earthquake Rehabilitation programme launched after the Latur quake, which caused an estimated damage of Rs 35,000 crore.All this is part of the joint project undertaken by the seismological division of BARC, IIT and IIGM, involving integrated geological, seismological andco-seismatic investigations in the Thane-Kalyan district from Jawahar to Murbad, the area believed to be lying in an earthquake-prone fault.The preliminary findings of the study suggest that the 80 kilometres between Murbad near Kalyan and Jawahar in Thane district are seismologically active. Covered in this region are also Bhatsa, Vada, and Mokhada places close to Panvel, Kalyan and Thane creek, along the Western ghats and the Deccan plateau.The IIGM has placed orders for seven special antennae receivers to be installed at seven places in Thane to receive signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) - a cluster of 22 special satellites (mainly American) on orbit which send signals even about slight movements on the earth's surface.The IIGM has also approached the Central government for funds to buy more such antennae, which can be placed at various locations in Western Maharashtra.``Due to lack of funds (the cost of one receiver is nearly Rs 30 lakh) the institute is now using mobileantennae. A small country like Japan which is prone to frequent earthquakes has 1000 such equipment. We require at least 1000 of them to constantly monitor the signals,'' B P Singh, IIGM director and a leading member of the study group, said. These units will have to be purchased from US and Swiss companies, as no Indian company makes them.The six seismo-meters, to be bought at a cost of nearly Rs 1 crore, will receive radio waves released from faults one day in advance. ``These meters are accurate in predicting the structure of the earth's crust by observing seismic waves from various angles, Singh said, adding, ``We feel the fault we're studying is risky. Gravity survey, electrical survey and magneto-teluvix seismic survey are used for the study, and we're constantly monitoring the area.''Before the earth quakes, the earth's crust cracks, emitting a lot of radio waves. Japanese professors have, with the help of new machines, succeeded in receiving radio waves before a major quake in China. ``We've gotthe same technology, and we'll first make three of these machines. We'll test them in Moorbad, Nashik and Pune. If we succeed, we'll make them in large quantities, as the cost is only Rs 2 lakhs per machine, and install them in other parts of India,'' Singh said.While the state government has agreed to finance the initial expenses, the Centre will be approached to finance large-scale production. ``There are sudden changes in the river flow due to the presence of an active fault in this part of the Deccan plateau. Rivers flow in a zig-zag shape in quake-prone areas due to the activity taking place several kilometres under the earth,'' Singh said. The study group's survey has also led it to the conclusion that the Kalo-Batsa river basin in the region has an active fault. This is in addition to the findings of a study of sedimentary land, which showed clear signs of seismic activity in the region.
