Union Minister of Coal and Mines, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, today inaugurated the National Landslide Forecasting Centre (NLFC) at the Geological Survey of India’s (GSI) Dharitri Campus in Salt Lake City, Kolkata. The Minister also launched the Bhusanket Web Portal and Bhooskhalan Mobile App, marking significant advancements in India’s disaster management and landslide hazard mitigation efforts.
The NLFC represents a pioneering initiative aimed at mitigating landslide hazards in India. It is expected to benefit residents of Kalimpong, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri districts immediately, providing them with live forecasting reports starting from 20th July 2024. By 2030, the NLFC plans to operationalize the regional Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) nationwide, issuing early warning bulletins for all landslide-prone states. Equipped with advanced technology, the NLFC will offer early information to local administrations and communities, update landslide inventories, and integrate real-time rainfall and slope instability data for enhanced forecasting accuracy.
The Bhusanket Web Portal, launched simultaneously, represents a major step towards disaster risk reduction. It will facilitate the dissemination of relevant data and information on landslide hazards, initiating both 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 the Bhusanket Web Portal and will soon be available on the Google Play Store.
In his address, G. Kishan Reddy emphasized GSI’s critical role in disaster management, particularly in landslide hazard mitigation. He commended the dedication of GSI officers in establishing the NLFC and urged them 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.
