Scientists say more tremors overdue in region GANGTOK, 25 SEPT: Geologists in Sikkim warn that another earthquake in the region might lead to topographical and morphological changes in the region and may even affect the course of Teesta, the major river flowing through this region. Even as the state is yet to recover from the devastating 18 September tremor measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, scientists say that more earthquakes in the seismic region are overdue. “Any earthquake, particularly in the hilly region which is always considered topographically vulnerable, will experience a morphological and topographical change but the extent of change after this quake cannot be assessed right now. It will take some time,” senior Geologist of Geological Survey of India in Sikkim Mr Paritosh Bhaumik said today. When asked whether the quake will affect the course of the Teesta, Mr Bhaumik said: “Though Teesta doesn’t fall in the seismological weak lineament but another earthquake in the region will lead to the increase of glacial lakes and it will definitely affect the course of the river.” “There are glacial lakes like Changekhempu and Zimo at Gurudambar lake which feeds Teesta. (In the event of a quake) these might start melting and increase the flow of water which will lead to flash floods and it might even to some extent change the course of the river,” Mr Bhaumik said. “Moreover, there are many small glacial lakes in the Lachenchu region which might start melting and we cannot also ignore the possibility of the creation of new lakes but these are all subject to epicentre of the quakes and the intensity of it,” he said. However, Geophysicist of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in India Mr Sushil Kumar said: “If the acceleration is high at the epicentre of the earthquake, nothing will be stable and the glacial lake will burst. Unfortunately, a number of these lakes are located near the seismic faults.” Officials with Nepals National Seismological Centre (NSC) said that at least half a dozen minor tremors are recorded in the Himalayas everyday. “The main reason why we have not witnessed the bursting of glacial lakes is because the region has not been hit by big earthquakes in recent times,” Mr Dilram Tiwari of NSC said. “And when the magnitude of the tremor is five or above we record many after shocks as well. We know that these activities are happening in the Himalayas but we cannot confirm whether they are happening in the nearby glacial lakes because there are hardly any seismic meters installed near the glacial lakes,” he said. Urja project workers returning home TUNG (Sikkim), 25 SEPT: A large number of workers of the Teesta Urja hydel power project at Chungthang in north Sikkim, one of the worst-affected places in the recent quake, have abandoned their work and set out for their homes. “It was terrible spending the night at Chungthang (when earthquake occurred). And when the next morning we started for Mangan, we found that the road from Chungthang to Mangan was closed and we had to stay back,” SK Manobbar, one of the workers, said. He said that after two days the road was partially open and they took the enormous risk of trekking all the way to Mangan, about 15 km away. Manobbar, a resident of Bankura in West Bengal, said he arrived yesterday along with 29 others, all workers of the project, at Mangan and is putting up at a relief camp at nearby Naga. According to official estimates, around 1,200 people walked down from Chungtham to safer places in the plains. pti