North Eastern Space Applications Centre helping in flood control: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), a wing of the ISRO, has been helping the government in flood control through space technology.

Addressing an event on the Foundation Day of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Shah said that a big new experiment has been initiated in the Northeast where a society has been formed to harness space science through the NESAC, which was set up by the Department of Space and the North Eastern Council.

“We have started using the space technology in disaster management by doing advance planning from last year,” he said. The Home Minister said in the Northeast, the Brahmaputra is often flooded, but the topography there is such that it is very easy to transfer the water of the river to a lake of thousands of hectares before it floods. He said if a lake can be built, the chances of flooding will be reduced by 40 per cent.

“The NESAC is working to find such type of location and it has also been successful. So far, 19 locations have been found, where big lakes will be built and energy will not be used to send water there as water will reach through topography. This is a new beginning and we have taken it one step further,” he said.

The NESAC helps augment the developmental process in the Northeast by providing advanced space technology support.

The home minister said after Narendra Modi became the prime minister, the winds of development have come to the Northeast and many roads are being built, because without connectivity the development of the region is not possible.