Other States - Orissa   

Device to transmit data about relief shelters

— Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

Vital info: Visitors at the exhibition organised to mark the Disaster Preparedness Day in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) in association with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) has launched a unique device by which complete database about hospitals and relief shelters could be transmitted from any place in no time.

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), which looks like a high-end cell phone set, is an integration of palm top computer, global positioning system, digital still camera and mobile phone.

The data captured by the instrument could be transmitted through normal GPRS cell phone network to a central server, which could be accessed by the major stakeholders for decision making.

The data for the areas which are not covered by mobile phone network could be stored in the PDA device and transmitted later by the operator when he enters nearest network. The technology is designed to be used as decision support system for effective management of disasters.

At the Orissa disaster preparedness day function, which is observed to commemorate super cyclone of 1999 and its devastation, here on Wednesday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the pilot project on mobile-based technology for generation of geo-spatial data.

“We are using the device for the first time in the country for creating a database of relief shelters, hospitals and supply godowns in Puri district. Completion of this pilot exercise will herald its application in about 300 multi-hazard prone districts of the country by National Disaster Mitigation Authority for creating such databases,” said G. Behera, group director of water resources and oceanography unit at NRSC, Hyderabad.

He said PDA would cost about Rs. 60,000. “We have embarked upon a pilot project in which we have involved students. This will keep the cost of database low and will provide a real life learning exercise to the students,” Mr. Behera said.

The Chief Minister said five units of Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force trained in search and rescue techniques and equipped with modern machinery had been playing effective role during disaster. “We are going to set up five more such units soon,” Mr. Patnaik announced.

He claimed, “we have constructed 165 multi-purpose cyclone shelters, 1158 high school and 8890 primary school buildings, which can be used as shelters during calamities. And 38 more shelters are under construction in cyclone prone areas of our State.”

Among others State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Manmohan Samal, Panchayati Raj minister Raghunath Mohanty, Revenue Secretary GVV Sarma and OSDMA Managing Director Nikunja K Sundaray were present.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Children’s magazine to get a new life soon
Bidyadharpur comes alive for Kali puja
All set for amateur drama festival
‘Posco close to getting PL for iron ore reserve’
Sculptor to create art awareness
Training in mushroom cultivation
30 Diwali mishap cases in SCB
Krushak Morcha plea to Government
Two tractors, godown torched
Device to transmit data about relief shelters

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu