ISRO helps Mumbai college in slum development...

AFTER PUTTING India into the big league of space research, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has planned to provide communication solutions to the Centre for Slum Studies set up by Ramnarain Ruia College in Mumbai.

ISRO has given a satellite connection to the slum centre to aid the programme in slum studies and development. The post graduate diploma course has also been selected by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as an innovative programme.

The programme involves visiting slum areas and identification and study of living conditions and problems faced by slum dwellers. The satellite connection will help the centre in obtaining faster data as instead of physical visits only, the centre can use satellite imagery to obtain the same.

This will also enable the centre to obtain real time data often required by the government agencies to make new plans and for funding.

Preparing and obtaining the data from the slum areas is a difficult task as these are not easily accessible. Students and research scholars, who cannot frequent the slums regularly will be helped by the satellite data immensely.

The centre is also planning to establish linkages with major universities in India and abroad.