APPREHENDING a major calamity like the 1993 Latur quake after the recent tremors that rattled parts of western Maharashtra, the state government has decided to approach national agencies and commission studies in the Koyna region. Officials are working on a proposal to seek the help of agencies like the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Indian Meteorology Department (IMD), National Institute of Geo-Magnetism (NIGM) and the National Geological Research Institute (NGRI) to conduct studies in the quake-prone Koyna region. The agencies would be invited to visit the state soon to conduct the studies. "We want experts to undertake a fresh study into the matter," said a senior official. "The need is felt because the recent shock measured 4.8 on the Richter scale. We don't know whether it is because of intermittent release of energy in small quantum due to movement of plates deep inside the earth or pressure is building up inside the earth which may erupt at a greater intensity in future." He pointed out that the devastation due to the Latur quake and the major tremors in the Koyna region in 1967 were fresh in the minds of the people and the intermittent shocks could not be ignored. He, however, ruled out the possibility of seismic activity being induced by the Koyna reservoir. The shocks felt on Wednesday rattled 37 villages in Phaltan, five in Karad and three in Satara, damaging 112 houses, killing one person (in a house collapse) and injuring five. The shocks were felt at Pune, Sangli, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and Mumbai. The state government is apprehensive about the magnitude and intensity of future shocks. The official said that local officials are surveying houses in the region and have launched an awareness campaign to educate villagers on do's and don'ts as a preventive measure and also to be prepared just in case a calamity strikes. He said that the government had plans to educate engineers and masons on how to build structures that are quake- resistant. According to government statistics, there were 56 shocks in 2005 which included seven above 4 on the Richter scale. In 2006 there were 24 tremors of which two were above 4; in 2007 there were 29 shocks, including three above 4. In 2008 there have been 11 shocks, nine of them between 3 and 4 and two above 4 on the Richter scale.