The Assam government has provided around 200 bighas of land, nearly 70 acres, free of cost to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for setting up an advanced radar facility of the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Chandrapur near Guwahati, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.
The Chief Minister said the Chandrapur site, where the facility is coming up, was earlier associated with a thermal power station.
Sarma made the announcement during the foundation stone-laying ceremony and Bhoomi Pooja for the ISTRAC Advanced Radar Research Facility (IARRF) at Chandrapur. These radars will study various activities in space and disseminate knowledge to the government and other scientific bodies.
Explaining the significance of the facility, Sarma said the radar centre would track and study activities in space and share information with the government and scientific institutions. Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, he said, “ISRO has initiated the establishment of a radar centre in Guwahati. “This centre will firmly place Assam on the map in the field of space research,” Sarma said. Sarma said the facility would give Assam a larger role in India’s space research activities. “And I hope that soon Assam will emerge as a major centre for space research,” he said.
