Tremor phobia fades away in Gaya town

GAYA: With a large number of Gaya people having a relatively good sleep, the tremor phobia that gripped the city appears to have faded and rumour mills too have slowed down. District magistrate Sanjay Agrawal swiftly went into action mode threatening rumour mongers with strict action. Sharing or forwarding objectionable messages on the social networking sites falls in the criminal offence category.
The phobia, according to knowledgeable sources, was a bit exaggerated as Gaya falls in seismic zone three where possibility of high intensity earthquake is much less as compared to areas falling in other high risk seismic zones.
According to Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Vyasji, Gaya being in seismic zone three means that it was at was vulnerable to only slight or mild earthquakes that do not pose “much danger”. People recovering from the tremor phobia have now started blaming the electronic media for creating and spreading panic.
According to Prof Arun Kumar Prasad, professor of philosophy, a high magnitude earthquake occurred in 1988 but the scale of panic was much less as only Doordarshan news was available and Doordarshan even today acts with much more responsibly compared to the channels engaged in cut throat competition in sensationalizing even trivial issues. TV flashes of aftershocks were generally aimed more at panic creation , said Prasad.
According to municipal corporator Lalji Prasad, guest attendance in marriages solemnized in the last couple of days was thin and as such quantity of food waste reached an all time high. In view of the condition of old structures around the shrine, the Lodging House Committee has introduced the licensing system but in many cases extremely vulnerable buildings have been issued fitnesses licences to house the pilgrims.