July 2: The tremor-prone Barak Valley will get a hi-tech earthquake research centre, to be built on the campus of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Silicoorie near Silchar.The Union ministry of science and technology has cleared a proposal for the centre, which will be the first such institute in the Northeast to be exclusively devoted to the study of earthquakes.
NIT Silchar has been asked to prepare a feasibility report on this proposed Seismic Activities Research Centre. Delhi will provide Rs 25 crore for it.
Sources said the Centre was keen on building the institute in Cachar since it was the focal point of the tremor-prone Northeast.
Three geological faults which trigger earthquakes are all located near Cachar.
The Dawki fault in Meghalaya lies on the district’s northwest, Sitakunda-Tecknaf fault stretches from Bangladesh and another fault in Myanmar reaches out on its eastern flank.
T. Oldham, a geologist, said a major earthquake ripped through Cachar and its adjacent areas in 1869, leaving behind a trail of devastation.
Another major tremor hit this region on December 31, 1984, in which at least 20 people died in Sonai block near Silchar and cracked several buildings, including a mosque.
Three major tremors jolted the district in November 1996, May 1997 and February 2001.
source: telegraph india
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