According to defence officials, the first avalanche monitoring radar to be built in India was installed in north Sikkim by the Indian Army and the Defence Geoinformatics and Research Establishment (DGRE). This radar has a second purpose in addition to avalanche detection: landslide detection. The radar was launched by the Tri Shakti Corps commander, Lt Gen Tarn Kumar Aich, at one of the army’s forward positions at a height of 15,000 feet in north Sikkim, according to defence spokesman Lt Col Mahendra Rawat.
According to him, this radar can detect avalanches within three seconds of their triggering and can help save soldiers’ and civilians’ lives as well as the lives of vehicles in extremely high altitude places. According to Lt. Col. Rawat, the DGRE division of the Defense Research and Development Organization, which is responsible for forecasting and mitigating avalanche dangers encountered by the Indian Army in the Himalayan region, turned on the avalanche radar.
According to him, this radar detects avalanches in under three seconds by scattering a series of brief microwave pulses at the target. The radar, an all-weather solution that can continuously scan the targeted slope for avalanche release and track an avalanche’s path and size in case it is triggered, can “see” through snow, fog, and the night and covers an area of two sq/km, eliminating the need to install additional instruments in hazardous avalanche prone areas.
The alarm system that the radar is connected to allows for automatic control and warning procedures in the event that an avalanche is triggered. The event’s photos and videos are automatically captured for professional review in the future. The radar will go a long way toward protecting the lives of troops deployed in dangerous terrain and below-freezing conditions while also preventing damage to vehicles and equipment in such snowbound high-altitude locales.
(source: IANS)
