Covid-19 war rooms: Officials tap ‘Survey of India’ to plan responses better

Survey of India in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has created a map to help officials working in Covid-19 war rooms.

Which is the biggest banquet hall in a neighbourhood that can be used as a quarantine facility for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients? Or, which are the entry and exit points of a containment zone, where police personnel can be deployed?

Key questions about Covid-19 that can be answered by the map.(Samir Jana/HT)

These are the key questions that can be answered by a map -- created by the Survey of India in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) -- to help officials working in Covid-19 war rooms.

“We have an existing map of the entire Indian topography. When we collect information, we also collect certain secondary information such as locations of hospitals and automated teller machines (ATMs) in an area that can be overlaid on the map. Besides, there’re various other public databases, which can be integrated with this map to help the personnel working in Covid-19 war rooms to plan their responses better,” said Pankaj Mishra, deputy surveyor-general, Survey of India.

The map comes with a mobile application SAHYOG, which can come in handy to add more geospatial data to provide localised delivery of healthcare services.

“We’ve looked at the guidelines of the health department to put together all the information that is needed for effective delivery of health services. More parameters can be added in line with the health department’s requirements. For example, if they require information on the number of hotels and banquet halls in an area, the public databases already have around 70% of this data and our officers can do location tagging for the rest. The revised map will be available to the war room personnel within eight to 10 hours,” said Mishra. “It can also help the war room officials demarcate containment zones effectively and check what are the resources available within these areas and where the entry and exit points are,” he said.

The integrated geospatial information can help take quicker spatial information-based decisions.

“Integration of demographic information with geospatial data is essential for decision making, governance and development,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, secretary, DST.