Drone survey for Shimla water scheme resumes tomorrow
Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited (SJPNL) is set to resume a Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping survey for the laying of water supply pipes in the town.
The survey will be conducted in five phases from September 9 to 30. From September 9 to 12, the GIS mapping will be conducted in Sanjauli helipad, Military Hospital, Sanjauli, Creghdu, Keleston Cottage and Hanuman Temple at Jakhu.
From September 13 to 16, the survey will be conducted in Tara Hall, Kaithu Jail, Bhakoo, Kalibari and ARTRAC. Similarly, the survey in the Indian Institute of Advance Study (IIAS), MLA Crossing, Ghoda Chowki and District Courts will be held from September 17 till 21.
Will help check wastage of water
New pipelines to be laid in the town will help check water wastage due to leakage. — Surender Chauhan, Shimla MC mayor
The GIS mapping in Jutogh, Totu and forest area will be conducted from September 22 till 25, while the exercise will be undertaken in Summer Hill, Himachal Pradesh University and in forest area near the university from September 26 till 30.
So far, 60 per cent drone survey has been completed.
SJPNL spokesperson Sahil said this was the tentative schedule of the GIS mapping. “The survey will be completed within the stipulated time if the weather conditions remain good. The exercise is mandatory for complete hydraulic designing of the water supply system of the town,” he added.
The spokesperson said only physical data of houses from the sky was being captured and the privacy of any residents was not being compromised. “The data captured during the drone survey will not be shared with any third party, as per the condition of the contract,” he added.
He said the exercise was crucial to meet the technical design requirements of the continuous pressurised water supply in the state capital.
Earlier, SJPNL had entered into a Performance Based Contract (PBC) with Suez India Pvt Ltd for execution of the ‘Continuous Pressurised Water Supply in Shimla City’ project funded by the World Bank. One of the prerequisite for the project is to carry out the GIS mapping so that every household is covered.
Suez India is conducting a drone survey for the GIS mapping and all the requisite permissions have been obtained from the district administration by mentioning the drone specifications and pilot licence details.
The key objective of the drone survey is to prepare the base map for a complete design of the water supply system. The drone used for this survey activity is of ‘Edall Systems’, which is an industrial level drone and is only being used to conduct and capture geographical features.
