Karnataka - Belgaum   

Each hobli in State to have telemetric rain-gauge station

Belgaum: The State Government has decided to establish telemetric rain-gauge stations/weather stations in every hobli to further strengthen natural calamity monitoring system.

According to officials sources here on Saturday, Karnataka is the second most drought-prone State in the country after Rajasthan.

In view of the recurring phenomenon of droughts, besides floods in major rivers in the State, resulting heavy loss of life and property every year, the Government had decided to establish telemetric rain-gauge stations to monitor rainfall conditions and natural calamities, they said.

One such station has been functioning in Bangalore. It is being maintained by the Karnataka State Drought Monitoring Cell.

The establishment of such Global System for Mobile (GSM)-linked stations at hobli levels would also help in carrying out systematic study of rainfall pattern in different areas and alert farmers about the possible floods and droughts in advance, the sources said.

It would also be possible to take up flood and drought related studies in a scientific manner, which would further assist the Government in taking effective steps to deal with such natural calamities.

Sources said that such stations would be established in open and plain areas, with no obstruction of any kind in the radius of at least 50 m, falling under BSNL’s coverage area.

The sources added that the Government would spend nearly Rs. 4 crore to establish these stations.

Training programme would be conducted for the staff in the Revenue Department and gram panchayats in this regard, they said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Each hobli in State to have telemetric rain-gauge station

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu