As part of the memorandum of understanding signed earlier between the State Government and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, 84 seismographs have been installed in the Garhwal region while about 100 seismographs are to be installed in the Kumaon region. This will help build a warning system for earthquakes in the seismically active Uttarakhand State. In addition to this, Doppler radars are expected to be installed at three locations in the State by next year. The State Government is also working to provide a satellite phone to each Sub Divisional Magistrate in the State in order to facilitate better communication during disaster and emergency scenarios. The disaster management secretary Amit Singh Negi and Additional Secretary Savin Bansal said this while addressing the media here on Friday.
Negi said that the State Government was processing facilitation of land in Mussoorie, Mukteshwar and Pithoragarh for installation of Doppler radars.
Following due procedure, these are expected to be set up in a year and will help enhance the weather forecasting capability. Earlier, Bansal informed that following the MoU signed with IIT Roorkee, seismographs have been installed in the Garhwal region and similar equipment is to be installed in Kumaon region. Additionally, the stretch from Tehri dam reservoir to Rishikesh considered sensitive in case of floods will have eight sirens which will be used to raise flood alerts. He further informed that with construction material and methods changing in the mountainous regions, the department is also training masons in techniques for disaster prone region like U’khand. The Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre executive director Piyoosh Rautela was also present.