Summary
The purpose of the MoU is to develop and deploy 10 Landslide Monitoring and Early Warning Systems (EWS) at certain sites based upon earlier visits
It will also channelise scope for analysis of these sites as per InSAR- based analysis and in confirmation with the district administration
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the district disaster management authority (DDMA), Kangra on January 31, in order to develop and deploy 10 Landslide Monitoring and Early Warning Systems (EWS) in certain parts of Kangra.
These areas have been selected on the basis of site visits and analysis as per InSAR-based analysis and in confirmation with the district administration. This will also help in the development of machine learning approaches for predicting InSAR-based and EWS-based outcomes for generating prediction-based warnings.
The MoU was signed between Laxmidhar Behera, director, IIT Mandi, and Nipun Jindal, IAS, deputy commissioner, District Kangra, in the presence of Kala Venkata Kala, assistant professor, IIT Mandi and Rohit Rathour, HAS, additional district magistrate, Kangra, and other dignitaries.
In December 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the system during his visit to Mandi. Rajendra Arlekar, governor of Himachal Pradesh, also visited IIT Mandi for a discussion on Landslide Risk Management and assured that the association between IIT Mandi and the Himachal Pradesh government will play a pivotal role in preventing landslides in the state.
Laxmidhar Behera, director, IIT Mandi, said, “Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has a mission to solve problems of society. I am very happy to note that this project is a unique example of IIT Mandi’s mission to help address problems of Himachal Pradesh (landslides) while working with DDMA, Kangra.”
The objective of the MoU is manpower recruitment and finalisation of sites as per InSAR-based images for Landslide Monitoring and EWS. The institute will be required to Install two systems in the selected locations over the next three months starting from the day the project is initiated. In the next phase, the Institute will be required to install four more systems, preferably before the monsoons, and to finalise threshold algorithms based on initial data acquisition. It will also fine-tune any site-specific requirements for the systems including power, sensing parameters, data, and alerting requirements.
Nipun Jindal, DC Kangra, expressed his happiness to collaborate with IIT Mandi in the Landslide EWS that will be deployed in the Kangra district. “It will help to reduce the lives lost due to landslides. The early warning will also enable the DDMA to prepare better and be ready with mitigations,” he commented.
Last updated on 01 Feb 2022
