6:9) took a heavy toll of human lives, exceeding

An intraplate earthquake of magnitude (Mc) 6.9 (Anon 2001a) struck Bhuj and the adjoining region of Kachchh in Gujarat on January 26th, 2001 at about 0316 hrs (GMT) and was followed by a number of aftershocks. The epicentre of this earthquake was located at 23.4N and 70.28E close to the Kachchh mainland fault. The intensity observed around the epicenter was X on the MSK scale. A study of 531 aftershocks, in the magnitude range of 3.0{5.7, recorded at Vadodara Seismological Observatory till March 31st, 2001 has been carried out and various statistical parameters calculated. The total energy released during the study period is calculated to be 8:2 1014 joule. Sudden occurrence of the main shock without any foreshock in the same tectonic system is a unique feature of this sequence. The b-value (0.86), value of M0{M1 (1.2), high M1=M0 (0.89) and high value of the decay constant h (0.91), all support the tectonic origin of the present study