The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) says that there is no way of predicting earthquakes at present but an independent researcher from Delhi claims that earthquakes are a result of the heating of the earth's core and can be prevented.
Surya Prakash Kapoor debunks the conventional theory of plate tectonics and says that geothermal energy is responsible not just for earthquakes but also volcanic eruptions , tsunamis and climate change. "Geothermal energy travels from its source situated at the centre of the earth towards the surface where it leads to geodynamism and geothermal events like volcanic eruptions, high heat flows and earthquakes. If this energy is tapped, used for generating electricity, not only will events like earthquakes cease but the earth's temperature can also be brought down," he said.
According to his theory, there are seven geothermal provinces in India — Himalayas , Sohana Cambay, west coast, SONATA, Godavari and Mahanadi. Of these, the Himalayas are most prone to earthquakes. "The collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate resulted in the formation of the Himalayas and one of the largest geothermal belts, over 150km wide and extending 3,000km through India, Tibet, China, Myanmar and Thailand. Over 150 areas are hot enough to generate electricity," he added.
The Himalayan geothermal area also has the highest heat flow value accounting for almost 60% of the total devastating earthquakes in India.
Kapoor's research shows that the first pilot binary 5 MW power plant was operated by the Geological Survey of India in Manikaran. India's geothermal provinces are capable of generating 10,600 MW. "Epicenters of all damaging earthquakes during last 200 years in India are located in the seven geothermal areas. It leads us to conclude that earthquakes are periodical emissions of unmanaged geothermal energy accumulated in the respective geothermal provinces. The portion of Gangetic plain comprising Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi, although situated in the vicinity of Himalayan plate boundary but lying in non-geothermal province, has not witnessed any earthquake hazard in the last 3000 years," he said.
