DRDO and the Ministry of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) have joined hands to strengthen collaboration in the field of technical exchange and co-operation on sustainable geo-hazard management.
Both establishments will co-operate in the areas of mutual benefit, including, conceptual planning of integrated avalanche and landslide protection schemes for all weather connectivity in snow bound areas of the country.
The scope include pre-feasibility study of tunnels and viaducts, planning and designing of various avalanche and landslide control structures, association in preparation of proposals and detailed project reports for tunnels, undertaking geological, geotechnical and terrain modeling, as well as other related aspects of tunnel construction.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed, on 20 January, Dr Satieesh Reddy, Chairman DRDO and Secretary MoRTH, Giridhar Aramane. This initiative will ensure safety of road users on national highways against the adverse effects of landslides and other natural calamities.
The areas of collaboration listed out in the MoU include detailed investigation of the existing critical avalanches and other geo hazards such as landslides, slope instability and sinking problems, planning, designing and formulation of sustainable mitigation measures for geo-hazards for national highways, and the supervision or monitoring during implementation of the mitigation measures.
DRDO’s Defence Geo-Informatics Research Establishment (DGRE) based at Chandigarh is the leader in the development of critical technologies for enhancing combat effectiveness of the armed forces with a focus on terrain and avalanches. The role and charter of this establishment is mapping, forecasting, monitoring, control and mitigation of landslides and avalanches in Himalayan terrain. DGRE was recently formed with the merger of two existing DRDO labs, the Defence Terrain Research Laboratory at New Delhi and the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment at Chandigarh.
It has been agreed by DRDO and MoRTH to utilise the expertise of DGRE in providing sustainable mitigation measures to damages caused by landslides, avalanches and other natural factors on various national highways.
