Karnataka - Bangalore

Get disaster alerts on television

Bangalore: A new communication system developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) could revolutionise disaster management in India by relaying alerts to the public through television.

Information picked up by Indian National Satellite System and sent to the Disaster Management Support Centre in New Delhi will be communicated through television via a direct-to-home receiver, G. Madhavan Nair, ISRO Chairman has said.

Speaking here on Monday at the valedictory function of an international exhibition and conference on disaster management, Dr. Nair said that Bharat Electronics Limited will produce 1,000 units, each of which will cost less than Rs. 10,000. Installation could take place within six months, he added.

“We used to earlier rely on large antennas that used to cost a few lakhs each. This new unit will be cheaper and portable,” he said. Natural disasters have, after all, almost become an annual feature and preparedness and mitigation have become important elements in disaster management, he said.

While Indian Remote Sensing satellites have helped communicate information on cyclones and floods, there are some limitations, Dr. Nair said.

“For instance, there is no system for microwave imaging which is essential for obtaining images during cloud cover. For this, ISRO now has tied up with the Canadian Space Agency to get data in the event of cyclones and floods.” K.M. Singh, member of the National Disaster Management Authority, said that there has been an important paradigm shift in the role of civil defence from that of providing protection during hostile attacks to disaster management. “Capacity building at all levels is the key to effective disaster management, whether within the administration, the corporate sector, scientific institutes or the public,” he said.

Disaster management must have a special focus on children, he said. “We have to draw lessons from the 1933 California building collapse and from the China earthquake where hundreds of children lost their lives.”

There also needs to be a change in attitude towards disasters, Mr. Singh added. “Disaster management and mitigation must be borne in mind during the initiation of any project, whether laying roads or building houses,” he said.

The event was organised by the NDMA and the Directorate of Home Guards, Civil Defence, Fire and Emergency Services, Karnataka. Awards were given for the best exhibitors and to students who took part in a painting competition on the theme of disaster management.

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