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Prestigious quake centre faces closure
Government apathy to be blamed
From Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR, July 20 — The prestigious Earthquake Research Centre (ERC) which successfully recorded the data of nuclear explosions in Pakistan and Pokhran in May, 1998, failed to record the recent tremors in the Hindukush region and Punjab.

The highly sophisticated machinery of international standards worth crores has been lying unused for the past several months as the state government has not given extension to the project so far.

The ERC, set up at Guru Nanak Dev University by the Punjab Government with a matching grant of Rs 52 lakh in 1993 for seismo-tectonic survey and earthquake studies in Punjab for the safety of dams, bridges and high-rise structures can also play a vital role in detecting underground nuclear explosions.

Though there is no financial liability involved, yet the state government has been dilly-dallying on the issue of giving extension. The university has been running the ERC from the interest of fixed deposits meant for the project.

Director-cum-Principal Investigator, ERC, Dr H.S. Virk, Senior Professor in the Department of Physics, said the centre had been set up on October 13, observed as World Disaster Day, in 1993. Three digital seismic stations were set up along with strong motion recording stations. However, due to paucity of funds, only three digital stations could be kept in operation along with an analogue recorder each at Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and the Thein Dam.

From time to time senior officials of the state government have tried to close down the ERC. The then Financial Commissioner (Revenue) went to the extent of withdrawing the Rs 52 lakh matching grant during the 1988 flash floods. He asked the authorities to refund the grant on the pretext that the money was to be disbursed among the flood-hit.

Prof Virk had to approach the then Governor to get bureaucratic hurdles removed as a result of which the ERC remained closed down for more than 15 months.

Guru Nanak Dev University took two years to complete a one-room library for the ERC. The ERC was operating from “borrowed premises” of the university till 1999. Even then the earthquake data was recorded without interruption for three years.

At the end of the three-year term, the ERC was left with only Rs 3 lakh in savings.

The Indian Meteorological Department has accepted the Amritsar and Thein Dam observations of the ERC as part of the national seismic network to be created by April 1, 2001, on the condition that the data is supplied to the central pool without interruption. Prof Virk says his predicament now is how to keep the ERC functional till that time.