According to the appeal, Dhamari (Pune district), Sangammer (Ahmednagar district), Gonde and Kalvan (Nashik district), Bensur, Nagpur, Tapovan and Waghala (Beed district) and a few villages in Wardha and Buldhana districts are disaster prone areas.

The surface and sub-surface changes, the appeal says, were responsible for the earthquake that hit Latur in September 1993. ``As the prediction status of earthquakes is at an infant stage it is difficult to t predict the time and place, its intensity, magnitude and also its impact'' the appeal points out.

Therefore it is imperative that measures are undertaken to ``reduce their impact by taking appropriate measures to create awareness among the people, to train them to adopt preventive measures to minimise death, damage to property and disruption of communication systems.'' This can be achieved if government and semi-government institutions are prepared by establishing warning systems, timely shifting of the population and medical support.

The students have appealed that these measures are adopted by the Government to minimise the impact of disasters so that the progress of the State is not hampered.