DEFENCE TERRAIN RESEARCH LABORATORY (DTRL)

Defence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL), a unit of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Situated adjacent to the majestic Meltcalfe House in New Delhi. The DTRL's origin dates back to 1964 when a Terrain Evaluation Cell was set up as a unit of the DRDO. The cell's objectives were to develop techniques needed for evaluating terrain and assessing the mobility potential in inaccessible areas. It became a full-pledged laboratory in 1981, and was renamed the Defence Terrain Research Laboratory.

MAJOR GENERAL UMANG Kapoor, Director, DTRL. An important work done by the scientists is the preparation of landslide zonation maps.The scientists are now working on a project called Unique Research Undertaken for Systems Development for Landslides Warning and Terrain Intelligence (URUSWATI). It involves mapping landslide-prone zones for the BRO. Landslides occur in India only in three areas - the Himalayas, the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats. Of these, only the Himalayas are strategically important.Sunil Dhar, who is also the Project Director of URUSWATI.

These zonations acquire importance in the context of India's plan to build a 1,200-km trans-Himalayan highway from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh to Kashmir. This highway is strategically important because it will be close to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, China-occupied Kashmir and the Pakistan border and will enable movement of men and weapons. Some of the highways have already been zoned.