I never intended to trigger panic, says Venkatanathan

Chennai, Sep 8 (UNI) Geologist N Venkatanathan said that he never intended to trigger panic, with his prediction that an earthquake would hit Asom today.

Reacting to reports that he triggered the panic button by coming out with a ''false prediction,'' Mr Venkatanathan, in a statement made available to UNI, said his predictions were only meant for scientific community and not for the general public.

Asserting that his prediction was not false, the Geologist from University of Madras said it ''holds good till September 11'' as he had clearly mentioned that the earthquake might occur ''within 2-3 days.'' By having September eight as reference date, the earthquake might take place either three days earlier or three days later. ''It means my prediction holds good till September 11,'' he said.

As this kind of possible error was associated with his predictions, he never wanted to make the prediction available to the public as it would cause panic among them. He denied having said that ''it is end of the road for Asom on September eight,'' as reported in a section of media.

Mr Venkatanathan said his ''studies are still under testing. My intention is not to create panic among public or to get publicity.

However, still there is a chance with reduced probability of occurrence,'' he added.

He claimed that his ''views (predictions) were supported by Chinese scientists and one more Indian scientist. They are expecting with lesser magnitude,'' he added.

UNI WS VA KN1945