'A major earthquake may hit Delhi': Geologists on recent tremors across NCR

"We cannot predict time, place or exact scale, but do believe that there is a consistent seismic activity going around in the NCR region and can trigger in a major earthquake in Delhi," says Dr K Sain.

Ten low to moderate intensity tremors shaking Delhi-NCR in the span of one and a half month indicate that a powerful earthquake could strike India's National Capital in near future, warn some of the top geologists of the country.

"We cannot predict time, place or exact scale, but do believe that there is a consistent seismic activity going around in the NCR region and can trigger in a major earthquake in Delhi," said Dr Kalachand Sain, Chief of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, a premier autonomous institute, run under Union Ministry of Science and Technology.

Unfortunately, Delhi falls under high-risk seismic zones and its border towns are witness to mushrooming growth of high rise private buildings, plenty of them which do not adhere to mandatory guidelines of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) set for earthquake-resistant construction.

What would happen if an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 or 6.0 hits the NCR? Replying to this frequently asked question, Professor Chandon Ghose of IIT-Jammu, an expert on earthquake engineering said, "Friday's (May 29) twin tremors which shook Delhi were measured at 4.5...but had it been a little more intense, the impact would have been serious. At Richter scale 6.0, the effect of the earthquake in Delhi would be devastating. Many buildings would be razed to dust."

In fact, innumerable high rise buildings in Noida, Gurugram and neighbouring areas of Delhi blatantly violate BIS norms.

"Everyone knows that Delhi-NCR falls under seismic zone-4, and it's prone to tremors but still most of the builders do not conform to the norms of BIS. There is a nexus between architects and builders which somehow compromise the stringent earthquake (resistant) codes. So, on any given day, if an earthquake of higher magnitude strikes here, the consequences would be grievous," said Professor Chandan Ghos

Elections 2019: What really wins you an election? Noida may have the answer

Cash, charity or caste may not help unless your constituents see you and your tangible development work in the constituency.

Article Source BS : Caste? Cash? Charity?

Take Gautam Buddh Nagar (or Noida) Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, which goes to the polls on 11 April. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s sitting candidate is Dr Mahesh Sharma, an amiable doctor who owns a huge hospital in the heart of NOIDA and is currently Union Minister of Culture.

In 2014, there was universal endorsement of Sharma. ‘He really takes care of us’ said a constituent fervently. ‘whenever there is any medical crisis, we know we can fall back on Kailash Hospital (Dr Sharma’s hospital) for treatment.’ Sharma would offer treatment at highly subsidised rates to people for his constituency, especially if they came with local references.

It was charity.

It worked in 2014. Sharma won by a margin of over 3 lakh votes, defeating Samajwadi Party’s Narendra Bhati, on the back of charity. There was also the Modi wave.

In theory the Modi charisma should work this time too. But last week, when Sharma visited rural areas, specifically Mirzapur village in Dankaur district, he was told to go back – that he had done nothing for the villages. Rural areas – Dadri, Jewar and Dankaur - hold the key to victory in Noida. Against an average turnout of 67 per cent, the urban areas in Noida -residential colonies around the malls and the cinema halls – reported a turnout of around 51 per cent, telling its own tale about the lack of interest in politics in urban India.

Caste too plays a big role. The biggest chunk of the rural population of farmers is Gujjar. This time, Satveer Nagar is the joint Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party candidate – and he is going to file his nomination on 22 March, a day after Holi. There is some presence of Thakurs and on the back of that, Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj won an assembly segment in the UP assembly elections. But his father has dismissed all speculation of being fielded from Noida: he will contest from Lucknow, he has said, quite firmly.

Cash – or rather wealth – has played a big role in the elections. Holdings in this part of UP are not small: and they are worth a LOT of money. These are not cowering farmers at the mercy of the elements. They are wealthy and most of them have other sources of hefty income, mostly rental income. Many have sold their land and some own Land Rovers and Audi cars.

In the circumstances, Dr Sharma is finding the going a bit tough. He has just come out with a glossy booklet listing his achievements, among them being claiming the credit for the Jewar airport, and extensions to the Metro. But the decision to extend the metro line was not solely at his behest. And the Jewar airport will take years to build.