India's 'quake-monitoring' infrastructure defunct since 8 months
India has 300 motion sensors to detect earthquakes that are spread across 14 states.
The devastating earthquake with an epicenter in Nepal has brought in focus earthquake monitoring systems in India.
According to the Hindustan Times, equipment that evaluates the scale, characteristics and predicts aftershocks -- the backbone of earthquake monitoring -- has been lying defunct for nearly 8 months.
The paper claimed that bureaucratic delays are the reason for this apathy. It said, "As the Nepal quake rippled across most of India, top geologists logged in to a designated website for data to analyse the event. When they failed to find any data on the 7.9-magintude quake that set off in Lamjung, Nepal, they found that strong-motion detectors were lying idle."
India has 300 motion sensors to detect earthquakes that are spread across 14 states.
The paper said, "The network is now idling, following a decision to shift its command centre from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee to the newly set up National Centre for Seismology, which isn’t fully functional yet."