Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC) at Mundur near here launched a Centre for Geoinformatics on Tuesday. The new centre, set up with the support of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, is expected to further studies on natural resource management and environmental impacts.
Inaugurating the centre, State Land Use Commissioner and Kerala State Remote-sensing and Environment Centre Director A. Nizamudeen said that the advancements in geospatial developments technology, global positioning system, remote sensing, and geographical information system (GIS) would provide new insights in the field of local-level planning.
“Till now, we have not fully used the potentials of science and technology for the comprehensive development of a locality. Geospatial tools will help prepare and analyse the geographical data in a scientific manner,” Mr. Nizamudeen said.
IRTC was involved in the preparation of watershed master plans and in the studies of natural disasters in Wayanad and Malappuram.
IRTC Director S. Sreekumar said that the centre had taken up a new project for the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change on live and abandoned quarries in Palakkad, Kozhikode and Thrissur.
A webinar on ‘geospatial tools in local level planning’ was also held. K.K. Janardhanan, IRTC registrar, welcomed. George Thomas, director of research at IRTC; A.P. Muraleedharan, president of the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad; and R. Satheesh, head of the Natural Resource Management Division, IRTC, spoke. Anand Sebastian, project scientist at IRTC, proposed a vote of thanks.
