BRO to employ drones for faster, accurate geological survey in road construction projects
Vijay Mohan
Chandigarh, October 7
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will be employing specially equipped drones to carry out geological surveys in mountainous regions for undertaking road construction works.
A requirement has been projected for recce and survey drones to provide a soft strata heat map of different sediment types and bedrock, along with likely slide-prone zones, to enable more accurate survey and planning of road alignments.
The drones, along with their sensors and data collection and analysis paraphernalia, will be developed indigenously by the industry and the requirement has been listed in the 10th edition of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) issued by the Ministry of Defence this week.
According to the DISC statement, BRO is involved in construction of roads on green field alignments. During initial surveys in thick vegetation, it is difficult to identify the rock strata and slide-prone areas.
A drone-based application to ascertain geological data and slide-prone areas will enable more accurate assessment of the requirement at the state of formulating the detailed project report (DPR).
Drone-based geological survey will become an inherent part of the DPR process and will be used extensively during selection of alignment and avoiding hard rock and slide-prone stretches to enable faster construction, the statement adds.
Mandated to develop infrastructure in border regions and remote areas, BRO has since its inception in 1960, constructed more than 55,000 kilometres of roads, over 450 permanent bridges with a total length of over 44,000 metres and 19 airfields. It is also responsible for regular road maintenance and snow clearance.
BRO is engaged in massive developmental works in frontier areas in the northern as well as north-eastern sectors. In September, the defence minister had inaugurated 90 infrastructural projects in 11 states and union territories along the Indo-China border, which include roads, bridges and tunnels.
Border infrastructure development got an impetus after the border clashes with China in eastern Ladakh in 2020. In the past three years BRO has completed around 300 projects valued at approximately Rs 8,000 crore. Another 60 projects are expected to be completed shortly.
Greater emphasis is also being made on construction of tunnels under mountain passes that remain closed for months during winters due to heavy snow. Tunnels are the most cost effective and efficient means to ensure year-round connectivity.
In the first 60 years of its existence, BRO had constructed just two tunnels. However, in the last three years alone, four strategic tunnels have been completed and another 10 are expected to be complete within 1-2 years.
New construction techniques, materials and methodology is also being explored by the BRO. This includes 3D printing for constructing buildings, which is faster and longer lasting. The world’s largest 3D constructed accommodation project is being executed by BRO is Chandigarh.
