The centre will be the first specialised body in the Northeast and the twelfth in the country, aimed at tackling landslides and enhancing the knowledge of the region’s geography.
Speaking to The Telegraph from Aizawl today, Rohluna expressed hope that the centre, set up under the Union ministry of mines, would fill in the knowledge gap about Mizoram’s geography in particular and the Northeast in general.
It will also provide information about landslides in the Northeast.
The director-general of the GSI, S.K. Wadhawan, who was present at the foundation-laying ceremony of this centre, along with three other deputy director-generals of the institute, said it would be a “world class training centre”.
It would be equipped with state of the art instruments and gadgets to help in the dissemination of knowledge about landslides and earthquakes, which will be transferred to experts, geologists and students of geography and geology.
Rohluna hoped that the institute would be able to complete the construction soon without a hitch.
Natural disasters like landslides and earthquakes occur regularly in the state every year.
The industries minister made it clear that the local residents and the people of the Northeast would be helped considerably.
The institute has conducted training since 2010 for the administrative and engineering department officials of both the Centre and the state government regarding the threat of periodic landslides and earthquakes in the state.
The training will now be conducted at the centre at Durtlang.