GANGTOK, 27 Sep: Over a hundred frontline personnel of the Forest Department have been engaged in various relief and rescue operations in affected areas of North Sikkim since the 18 September earthquake. Being a department with substantial deployment of personnel in North Sikkim [which has the largest area under forest cover] in the remotest of areas in the district, the Forest Department has played a major role in this time of emergency and is doing a commendable job in working towards restoring normalcy.
Speaking to NOW! today, the Forest Minister, Bhim Dhungel, informed that for the first time, the department has used GIS technology, introduced recently by the Department under a modernisation scheme, in organizing relief and rescue. The technology has been instrumental in reaching out to the far-flung affected areas and providing flight logistics, important mapping data and co-ordinates for Dzongu to the rescue choppers being operated by the Indian Army.
“We have the entire coordinates for Dzongu which has helped in airdropping relief materials in the area. We have provided the Indian Army and the STDC choppers with data to areas which even we did not know existed. Our co-ordinates are used by the helicopter pilots to reach areas where rescue teams have still not reached even on foot. We are coordinating the flight-plan monitoring for the military and STDC ,” informs Joint Director Karma Legsey who is also incharge of the GIS technology division in the department.
The officer states that apart from guiding the choppers to affected areas such as Breng which is the furthest up extreme in southeast of Dzongu and Singnok village in Upper Dzongu where only a forest cabin now stands.
The technology being used also claculates the aerial as well as ground distance for the rescue teams, advising not just aerial sorties, but overland relief and rescue efforts as well.
Further, water bodies, rivers and big land masses which can cause obstruction for overland parties can also be identified with the help of this technology and accordingly, plans for the different rescue teams which now also have doctors from the state government, different NGOs, forest department officials and personnel can be coordinated.
Digitised maps have also been generated through GIS technology because of which many small clusters of villages have now been mapped in more detail and rescue teams advised accordingly.
The Forest Department has already flown in several doctors to the affected areas who are now working on roster basis in affected areas such as Chungthang, Lachen, Lachung and relief camps like Lingzya in Dzongu.
“Sakyong-Pentong is still inaccessible but because of the logistics that we proided, the army were able to reach a small clearing in the village and airdrop relief materials and also rescue the severely injured with the chopper hovered 3 feet above the ground. Because of the clear definition of the topography of the region, the army has also been able to send in their personnel to areas where there are no landing strips,” informed the officer who is also helping in coordinating rescue and relief choppers from the two bases in Gangtok.
According to the Forest Minister, considerable Forest property has also been lost to the earthquake and the task after the rescue and rehabilitation is completed will be to rebuild whatever the department has lost. The Minister adds that apart from rebuilding infrastructure the department will also simultaneously work on a wildlife survey to find out the impact of the earthquake on the local wildlife there.
Here, the Minister added that the department’s role in maintaining the plantations in North Sikkim which began 15 years ago has also been of a big help in resisting the earthquakes damage to many areas there. He informed that wherever plantations were undertaken, the slopes are either still stable or have suffered minimal impact.
It was also informed that the department’s intitiave to hold a regular wrokshop on disaster management in the rural areas and guidelines for constuction of rural houses has also proved benifitial in saving lives when it was required the most.
The Minister adds that the Department is also proactively engaged in ensuring that road connectivity is established to the affected areas. “We will grant immediate clearance wherever required by BRO to clear landslides or carve alternate alignments for roads lost to the earthquake,” he informed.
Speaking to NOW! today, the Forest Minister, Bhim Dhungel, informed that for the first time, the department has used GIS technology, introduced recently by the Department under a modernisation scheme, in organizing relief and rescue. The technology has been instrumental in reaching out to the far-flung affected areas and providing flight logistics, important mapping data and co-ordinates for Dzongu to the rescue choppers being operated by the Indian Army.
“We have the entire coordinates for Dzongu which has helped in airdropping relief materials in the area. We have provided the Indian Army and the STDC choppers with data to areas which even we did not know existed. Our co-ordinates are used by the helicopter pilots to reach areas where rescue teams have still not reached even on foot. We are coordinating the flight-plan monitoring for the military and STDC ,” informs Joint Director Karma Legsey who is also incharge of the GIS technology division in the department.
The officer states that apart from guiding the choppers to affected areas such as Breng which is the furthest up extreme in southeast of Dzongu and Singnok village in Upper Dzongu where only a forest cabin now stands.
The technology being used also claculates the aerial as well as ground distance for the rescue teams, advising not just aerial sorties, but overland relief and rescue efforts as well.
Further, water bodies, rivers and big land masses which can cause obstruction for overland parties can also be identified with the help of this technology and accordingly, plans for the different rescue teams which now also have doctors from the state government, different NGOs, forest department officials and personnel can be coordinated.
Digitised maps have also been generated through GIS technology because of which many small clusters of villages have now been mapped in more detail and rescue teams advised accordingly.
The Forest Department has already flown in several doctors to the affected areas who are now working on roster basis in affected areas such as Chungthang, Lachen, Lachung and relief camps like Lingzya in Dzongu.
“Sakyong-Pentong is still inaccessible but because of the logistics that we proided, the army were able to reach a small clearing in the village and airdrop relief materials and also rescue the severely injured with the chopper hovered 3 feet above the ground. Because of the clear definition of the topography of the region, the army has also been able to send in their personnel to areas where there are no landing strips,” informed the officer who is also helping in coordinating rescue and relief choppers from the two bases in Gangtok.
According to the Forest Minister, considerable Forest property has also been lost to the earthquake and the task after the rescue and rehabilitation is completed will be to rebuild whatever the department has lost. The Minister adds that apart from rebuilding infrastructure the department will also simultaneously work on a wildlife survey to find out the impact of the earthquake on the local wildlife there.
Here, the Minister added that the department’s role in maintaining the plantations in North Sikkim which began 15 years ago has also been of a big help in resisting the earthquakes damage to many areas there. He informed that wherever plantations were undertaken, the slopes are either still stable or have suffered minimal impact.
It was also informed that the department’s intitiave to hold a regular wrokshop on disaster management in the rural areas and guidelines for constuction of rural houses has also proved benifitial in saving lives when it was required the most.
The Minister adds that the Department is also proactively engaged in ensuring that road connectivity is established to the affected areas. “We will grant immediate clearance wherever required by BRO to clear landslides or carve alternate alignments for roads lost to the earthquake,” he informed.
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