Kolkata; July 19, 2024

Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Coal and Mines inaugurated the National Landslide Forecasting Centre at GSI, Kolkata today. He also launched the Bhusanket Web Portal and Bhooskhalan Mobile App. The programme was graced by dignitaries from various disaster management agencies and stakeholder organizations besides Shri Janardan Prasad, Director General, GSI and other senior officials of the organisation.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister stated that NLFC will be able to tell in advance if there is a possibility of a landslide. The primary aim of this Centre is to integrate, generate and disseminate daily landslide forecast for multiple states and to contribute to better landslide risk assessment and early forecasting for hydrologically controlled landslides at a regional spatial scale, and daily to seasonal temporal scales. Landslide can not be stopped but the loss of lives and damage to properties can be prevented, the Minister added.

This launch marks a landmark moment in the Central Government's quest towards landslide prevention and disaster preparedness across the nation, the Minister mentioned. Shri 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 officers 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 NLFC is a pioneering initiative aimed at landslide hazard mitigation in India. Soon after this inauguration, residents of Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Nilgiri districts will be benefitted from live forecasting report to be shared with them since 20^th July 2024. It will in due course issue early warning bulletins for all landslide-prone states, operationalizing the regional Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) nationwide by 2030. Equipped with advanced technology, the NLFC will provide early information to local administration and communities, update landslide inventories, and integrate real-time rainfall and slope instability data for enhanced forecasting accuracy.

The launch of the Bhusanket Web Portal marks a major step towards disaster risk reduction. This web portal will facilitate the dissemination of relevant data and information on landslide hazards, initiating short-range and medium-range landslide forecasting in the country. Integrated with the Bhusanket Web Portal, the user-friendly Bhooskhalan Mobile App will enable 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 Bhusanket web portal and will soon be available on Google Play Store.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister 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 officers 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 and a testament to its commitment to advancing disaster preparedness and safety in India. The event underscores GSI's ongoing efforts to leverage technology and innovation for the nation's sustainable development, resource management, and disaster mitigation.

Earlier in the day, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) had the honor of hosting Hon’ble Union Minister of Coal and Mines, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, for a significant visit that highlighted GSI's critical contributions to India's geoscientific endeavors.

The visit commenced at the Central Headquarters (CHQ) campus, 27. J. L. Nehru Road where The Minister also chaired a review meeting to assess the ongoing activities and achievements of GSI. During this meeting, the Minister underscored GSI’s pivotal role in baseline data generation, augmenting the mineral resources of the country and public good policies, particularly focusing on landslides, and 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. Notably, the number of exploration programs for critical minerals has increased from 127 last year to 196 out of total number of 450 exploration programmes 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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MSA…

(Release ID: 2034433)