JOURNEYING THROUGH GEOLOGY

Ms Shilpa Khandolkar is a ‘Geoscientist at the Geological Survey Of India’. She graduated from Dhempe College of Arts & Science in 2008 and obtained a masters degree from Goa University in 2010. She subsequently joined the teaching profession and worked at Dhempe College of Arts & Science and later at Parvatibai Chowgule of Arts & Science.

In December 2013, she joined the training office as a Trainee Geologist.After completing eleven months at various training Institutes all over India, she was  posted at Kolkata in 2014. She spent two years in Geochemical Mapping in the State of Orissa and is currently working for Geoinformatics.

Interviewer: How was your experience in Chowgule and Dempo, when as lecturer?

Interviewee: Enjoyed teaching, loved Chowgule, good environment and cooperative staff.

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Interviewer: Do you miss your job?

Interviewee: Yes a lot

Interviewer: How was the department during your time?

Interviewee: Very nice, I still remember those days.Students were very much interested in Geology. The staff and students were very cooperative.

Interviewer: How did you get into GSI?

Interviewee: I answered the UPSC exam for geologists. It is held every year.

Interviewer: Tell us something about GSI?

Interviewee: It’s basically to find coal and mineral resources.

There are currently 5 missions,

1-      Ground and Marine.

2-      Mineral Resource Assessment

3-      Geoinformatics

4-      Geotectonics and   Geohazards.

5-      Training and Capacity Building.

The beginning of geological investigation in India was in the early part of the nineteenth century. A few amateur geologists associated with the Survey of India and Army initiated geological studies in the country. H.W. Voysey (1818-1823) of the Great Trigonometric Survey made the first Geological Map of Hyderabad region along with a detailed report. A committee for “The Investigation of Coal and Mineral Resources” was set up in 1837. The Secretary of the Committee John McClelland made the appointment of the first professional geologist. D. H. Williams was the first Geological Surveyor appointed by the East India Company in 1846. John McClelland for the first time used the term Geological Survey of India in his report in 1848. He designated himself as officiating Surveyor, Geological Survey till 1st April 1850. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was set up in 1851 primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways. The arrival of Sir Thomas Oldham, Professor of Geology at Trinity College Dublin and the Chief of Irish Geological Survey at Calcutta on 4th March 1851, marked the beginning of the continuous period of the Geological Survey of India. Over the years, it has not only grown into a repository of geo-science information required in various fields in the country, but has also attained the status of a geo-scientific organisation of international repute. The main functions of GSI relate to creation and updation of national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment. These objectives are achieved through ground surveys, air-borne and marine surveys, mineral prospecting and investigations, multi-disciplinary geoscientific, geo-technical, geo-environmental and natural hazards studies, glaciology, seismotectonic study, and carrying out fundamental research. Outcome of work of GSI has immense societal value. Functioning and annual programmes of GSI assume significance in the national perspective.

GSI, headquartered at Kolkata, has six Regional offices located at Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Shillong and Kolkata and State Unit offices in almost all States of the country. Presently, Geological Survey of India is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines.

Interviewer: Is GSI in contact with other countries with respect to research?

Interviewee: Yes, British University is in collaboration with respect to natural hazards.

Interviewer: What does GSI mostly focus on?

Interviewee: GSI also focuses on Landslides Hazards and its Consequences

Protection of life and properties from landslide disaster is indispensable in creating a safe environment for the society. The national imperative towards safety due to landslide initiation is increasing in view of the higher rate of human settlement in the mountain slope across the country. Landslides are significant amongst those hazards that can easily be disastrous to human life and property. It is estimated that economic loss due to landslides may reach between 1-2% of the gross national product in many developing countries. Evaluating and mitigating the landslide hazard and risk is a major challenge for the technocrats and decision makers in the developing world as 80% of the reported fatalities due to landslide is within the developing countries.

In India, about 0.42 million sq. km or 12.6% of land area, excluding snow covered area, is prone to landslide hazard. Out of this, 0.18 million sq. km falls in North East Himalaya, including Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalaya; 0.14 million sq. km falls in North West Himalaya (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir); 0.09 million sq. km in Western Ghats and Konkan hills (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra) and 0.01 million sq. km in Eastern Ghats of Aruku area in Andhra Pradesh. The landslide-prone Himalayan terrain falls in the maximum earthquake-prone zones (Zone-IV and V; BIS 2002) where earthquakes of Modified Mercalli intensity VIII to IX can occur, and thus, are also prone to earthquake-triggered landslides. The most recent example is the aftermath of 18 September 2011 Sikkim Earthquake in the Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalayas.

Compiled by Vidiksha Fernandes and Evania Dias.