MUMBAI: After leaping into outer space in search of extraterrestrial life, India is all set to look deep into Earth for the cause of the most unpredictable of disasters—earthquakes.In October, a team of scientists will drill 4.5km into the earth’s crust to take a closer look at seismic activities that lead to earthquakes. Scientists are not united in their opinion about this costly experiment, but the ministry of earth sciences has given its nod.“We will carry out boring in the Koyna region of Maharashtra soon after monsoon,” Union earth sciences secretary Shailesh Nayak told TOI.To begin with, teams of seismologists and geologists will drive 10 boreholes near the Koyna reservoir area, which is known for tremors. Later, two pilot drills will go down as deep as 4.5km.The Koyna region has been selected for the experiment for its recent seismic activity. On December 11, 1967, an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit near Koyna reservoir, killing 180 people and injuring 1,500. Since then the region has been registering several tremors of low magnitudes.“Several changes happen under the earth before the threshold point. Plasticity changes and rocks become brittle. This project is an attempt to understand those changes,” said Nayak.Speakers at a symposium on disaster management at the 102nd Indian Science Congress were unanimous that quakes remain unpredictable. But there are differences of scientific opinion on the Koyna project.“It’s a pointless experiment,” said V Subramanyan, retired IIT Bombay professor of geology. “Earthquakes beat you any day in the game of secrecy.” Subramanyan felt that instead of spending money on predicting earthquakes, India should focus on making its buildings and people safer by adopting smarter construction methods and evacuation plans.While admitting that quakes remain a puzzle, Nayak looked at the brighter side—of scientists being able to read the magnitude of tremors and possible aftershocks within minutes. “Earlier we took two hours to ascertain the epicentre of a quake. Now we read it in minutes. Within 10 minutes of the Sikkim earthquake (2011), we knew the exact location and how big it was (6.9 on the Richter scale). In an hour, our disaster management teams where there,” Nayak said.