Facility to transmit real-time seismic data to Delhi
KISHTWAR, NOVEMBER 2: A new seismological observatory equipped with advanced digital equipment was inaugurated in earthquake-prone Kishtwar on Monday, strengthening Jammu and Kashmir’s capacity to monitor seismic activity and respond to natural disasters.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, inaugurated the facility through the Ministry of Earth Sciences, highlighting the expansion of weather monitoring and disaster preparedness infrastructure across the region.
The observatory will transmit seismic data in real time to the 24-hour Earthquake Monitoring Centre of the National Centre for Seismology in New Delhi. With its establishment, Jammu and Kashmir now has four seismological observatories, located in Jammu, Srinagar, Udhampur and Kishtwar.
Dr Jitendra Singh said the facility would enable continuous monitoring of earthquake activity, improve understanding of seismic hazards and provide useful information to district administrations and rescue teams for disaster response and safer infrastructure planning.
Highlighting the expansion of meteorological infrastructure since 2014, the Minister said Jammu and Kashmir, which had no Doppler Weather Radar coverage at the time, now has four operational radars at Banihal, Jot, Jammu and Srinagar.
Four additional Doppler Weather Radars are scheduled to be commissioned in 2027 at Doda, Kishtwar, Anantnag and Baramulla, taking the total number to eight.
He said the Automatic Weather Station network had also expanded from three stations to 12, with four in Kishtwar, two each in Doda and Ramban, and one in Kathua, besides the earlier installations at Udhampur, Kathua and Ramban.
The rainfall monitoring network has similarly increased from nine to 15 Rain Gauge Stations across the five districts of his parliamentary constituency.
The Minister said weather forecasts were now being disseminated at the Panchayat level across all Panchayats in the five districts, while weather forecast and agrometeorological advisory services had reached 5,467 beneficiaries.
He also highlighted the establishment of a High-Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory at Patnitop and a Regional Meteorological Centre in Jammu to strengthen weather forecasting and early warning services.
Referring to the region’s vulnerability to earthquakes, landslides and extreme weather events, Dr Jitendra Singh said scientific infrastructure must be strengthened in accordance with geographical risks, irrespective of administrative boundaries.
He also called for greater public trust in scientific weather warnings, stressing that timely information could save lives only when people acted upon official advisories.
“Information is important, but following the information is equally important,” he said, urging people to cooperate with the administration during weather alerts and restrictions.
The Minister also called for countering unverified and alarmist information with scientific and evidence-based communication.
Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala, senior scientist Suresh, Padder-Nagseni MLA and Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, Kishtwar MLA Shagun Parihar, Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Sharma and SSP Sunny Gupta were among those present at the inauguration.
