ISRO rolls out landslide alerts, GLOF mapping
New Delhi, Aug 6: The Centre on Thursday informed Parliament that 12 operational communication satellites currently provide coverage over Jammu and Kashmir, while ISRO is implementing a range of satellite-based projects, including village-level landslide alerts, glacial lake monitoring and broadband connectivity, across the Union Territory.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Minister of State for Space Dr Jitendra Singh said satellite capacity has been made available to service providers to strengthen telecommunication and broadband connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Minister said ISRO is implementing the Satellite Integrated Landslide Assessment and Alert System (SILAAS) project under its Disaster Management Support Programme to generate village-wise landslide alerts using satellite data. The project covers all districts of Jammu and Kashmir and is currently working on experimental landslide forecasting.
He said ISRO has also carried out landslide inventory mapping for the 2023 monsoon season covering all districts of the Union Territory.
According to the reply, under the National Hydrology Project, ISRO has completed an inventory of glacial lakes in Jammu and Kashmir and prepared Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) hazard and risk maps for Mundiksar Lake in the Indus River basin to strengthen disaster preparedness.
The Centre said satellite-based monitoring is also being used to track watershed development projects under the Integrated Watershed Management Programme and the Watershed Development Component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY 2.0) across all districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Minister informed Parliament that under the Urban Waterbody Information System (UWaIS) project, waterbodies in Srinagar, Jammu and Anantnag have been mapped using space-based technologies.
He said ISRO is supporting planning and monitoring of MGNREGA works through the Geo-MGNREGA project, while the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment project has completed district-wise wetland mapping for Jammu and Kashmir.
The reply further stated that ISRO, in collaboration with the University of Kashmir, has undertaken studies on desertification and land degradation in Kathua, Budgam and Udhampur districts and prepared an action plan for combating land degradation at the micro-watershed level.
The Centre also said the Long Term Ecological Research Stations project is studying climate and ecosystem responses across the north-west Himalayas, including Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr Jitendra Singh informed the House that the Space-based Information Support for Decentralised Planning-Update (SISDP-U) project has generated thematic information on land use, settlements, infrastructure and drainage for all districts of Jammu and Kashmir using high-resolution satellite imagery.
He said satellite-based annual land use and land cover assessments have been carried out for 2021-22 to 2024-25, while a detailed five-year assessment at a larger scale has also been completed.
The Minister said ISRO has sanctioned financial assistance for several projects in Jammu and Kashmir, including the ongoing land use and land cover mapping project, the SILAAS programme, watershed monitoring, wetland inventory and decentralised planning initiatives being implemented through the Directorate of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing and the Universities of Jammu and Kashmir.
He further informed Parliament that ISRO has established the Satish Dhawan Centre for Space Science at the Central University of Jammu, where faculty members and research scholars are provided access to ISRO facilities to promote research and enhance understanding of space technology.
The reply added that tele-education services under the PM e-Vidya programme and satellite-enabled telemedicine facilities are operational in Jammu and Kashmir, while the High Throughput Satellite GSAT-N2, launched in 2024, has further strengthened broadband connectivity across the Union Territory.
Dr Jitendra Singh said ISRO also conducts national and regional training programmes on disaster management applications, including the National Database for Emergency Management, in which officials from Jammu and Kashmir regularly participate.
