Naveen Hakhoo
This has reference to the article “No major earthquake threat in J&K” by B. D. Mal Barna published in the this paper on Friday, June 10.
The author seems to be of a radicalized opinion that what he and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) have done can never be wrong, and whatever anyone else is doing is a farce. The author must have worked for 39 long years (we really respect it), but his experience is not reflected in his writing style and the published literature, including his citation index. What the author missed and couldn’t understand even after 39 years of so called hard-core geological work has been understood, known and published in reputed journals in the last 5-8 years.
I am not a fan of Yann Gavillot (and others) and have never worked with him before; in fact I criticized his work and even wrote an email to him reflecting my skepticism concerning his conclusions. He and his team have put forth their observations and opinions, we have every right to criticize it and we should put forth our rebuttals. But, to completely discredit and negate their work will be disastrous for science. The author is of the view that “one should not worry about the occurrence of an earthquake when we don’t know the time, location and magnitude”. This statement reflects the ignorance of the author. It is same as saying one should not worry about smoking, because at the end we all have to die and we don’t know when, where and how will we die!
The way the author has written this article reflects his vendetta against the Geology Department at the University of Jammu. His allegations are very serious and he should come up front to prove the same or put forth an unconditional apology. The research fraternity of the Geology Department are very considerate and should consider forgiving the author for his sheer ignorance, as the article he has written reflects his inexperience as a ‘scientific literate. Additionally, the author has opined that the “research scholar cannot be an expert”, well of course, but the author has to acknowledge the fact that the ‘true’ research scholars are the most updated researchers abreast with the latest information and full of refreshing ideas. These days it doesn’t take long for the young brains to gather experience and being in America or Timbuktu just doesn’t matter. Srinavasa Ramanujan had no formal experience, he was young, dynamic and way ahead of his time, that was governed by dogma, bigotry and hypocrisy as reflected in this statement made by the author.
Coming to the cardinal point the author has assured the people that “nothing is going to happen” citing the inactivity in the Reasi area, perhaps he is turning a blind eye towards the fact that inactivity means that the stresses are building and are not being released irrespective of the fact the Reasi Thrust is very active. No readings mean that the stress is building in the seismic gap. The seismic gaps are more dangerous, not the areas where some activity is seen intermittently. But, the danger is not imminent as south of the Riasi Thrust thick and wide sedimentary complex is acting like a giant sponge and is soaking the stress. Additionally, perhaps the author doesn’t want to talk about the tunneling and alignment failures in Anji and other areas, not to forget the seriousness of the fractured, caverned rocks (causing incredible water loss during initial construction phase) and immense landslides (shallow failures) in the Bakkal area where the bridge is being constructed.
(The author is Assistant Professor (cont.), Postgraduate Department of Geology and Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Energy Research and Training (IERT) University of Jammu)
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