Kolkata: Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated the National Landslide Forecasting Centre (NLFC) at the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Dharitri Campus, Salt Lake City, Kolkata. The event also saw the launch of the Bhusanket Web Portal and Bhooskhalan Mobile App. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries from various disaster management agencies, stakeholders, and senior officials, including GSI Director General Shri Janardan Prasad.
The NLFC is a pioneering initiative aimed at mitigating landslide hazards in India. Residents of Kalimpong, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri districts will benefit from live forecasting reports starting July 20, 2024. The Centre will issue early warning bulletins for landslide-prone states, aiming to operationalize the regional Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) nationwide by 2030. Equipped with advanced technology, the NLFC will provide early information to local administrations and communities, update landslide inventories, and integrate real-time rainfall and slope instability data for enhanced forecasting accuracy.
The Bhusanket Web Portal is a significant step towards disaster risk reduction, facilitating the dissemination of data and information on landslide hazards. It will initiate short-range and medium-range landslide forecasting across the country. Integrated with the Bhusanket Web Portal, the user-friendly Bhooskhalan Mobile App will enable the quick dissemination of daily landslide forecasts and allow stakeholders to share and update spatial and temporal information on landslide occurrences. The app is available on the Bhusanket web portal and will soon be on Google Play Store.
In his address, G. Kishan Reddy emphasized GSI’s critical role in disaster management, particularly in landslide hazard mitigation. He commended the GSI officers for their dedication in establishing the NLFC and urged them to work diligently towards fulfilling the nation’s mineral and disaster management needs, aligning with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047.
“The inauguration of the NLFC and the launch of the Bhusanket Web Portal and Bhooskhalan Mobile App are landmark achievements for GSI. These initiatives are a testament to its commitment to advancing disaster preparedness and safety in India,” said G. Kishan Reddy. “GSI’s ongoing efforts to leverage technology and innovation for the nation’s sustainable development, resource management, and disaster mitigation are commendable.”
Earlier in the day, Minister Reddy visited the Geological Survey of India campus, starting with the Central Headquarters (CHQ) campus. He was welcomed by GSI Director General Janardan Prasad and chaired a review meeting to assess GSI’s ongoing activities and achievements. During the meeting, he underscored GSI’s pivotal role in baseline data generation, augmenting the country’s mineral resources, and addressing landslide issues. He congratulated the officers for their tireless efforts in advancing geological studies and mineral exploration.
GSI has significantly expanded from its initial focus on coal exploration to include mapping rock types, geological structures, and exploring strategic and critical minerals. The number of exploration programs for critical minerals has increased from 127 last year to 196 out of a total of 450 exploration programs this year. The successful launch of the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) and the migration of the OCBIS portal to the OCI cloud are testaments to GSI’s commitment to innovation and efficiency.
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