Mumbaikars have to wait another three years for real-time monsoon predictions through an advanced doppler radar system. Following the Navys refusal to allow Chinese technicians to visit Navy Nagar in south Mumbai for installation of the radar,the India Meteorological Department and the state government are now exploring possibilities of purchasing a new non-Chinese radar. The 10-cm S-band cyclone radar,meant for Mumbai,has now been shipped back to Delhi. The state government has called for a meeting of the IMD and revenue department officials on Tuesday morning to discuss alternatives. The defence ministry has rejected the proposal,as it would allow Chinese presence in a sensitive zone. We have called a meeting to discuss options, said M Rameshkumar,principal secretary at the Relief and Rehabilitation department. These include,purchasing a new radar,preferably non-Chinese,finding a new location apart from the Archana building in Navy Nagar,training IMDs staff in China for commissioning of the radar,getting a non-Chinese technical term for installation or engaging an Indian company for customising it. We will discuss if a new radar has to be purchased. Accordingly,tenders will be floated and specifications issued for customising it. It takes at least a year-and-a-half to make the radar, said Dr R V Sharma,deputy director general,IMD. Officials said that by the time a new non-Chinese radar comes to Mumbai or a new location is found for installation of another Chinese radar from the consignment of the 11,another two-three years will have passed. Even if a new radar is ordered or a new location scouted,it will take at least three years for all the procedures to be completed. Mumbai will have to do with the existing technologies for assessing the weather conditions, an official said. The delivery of other 11 radars,also from China and the same company,will also be delayed had the installation of the first radar not taken place immediately,sources said. The order for radar was first delayed owing to the Met departments inability to find a suitable place in the city for the installation as it requires an unobstructed view in five km radius. The Navy agreed to the installation on its structure following which global tenders were invited in 2007 and orders were placed. State officials said since the location was sensitive,a new structure at the MMRDA grounds or Kalina can be identified or newly constructed for the radar. Another option is to ask Bharat Electronics Limited,a government-run company that provided two radars,to divert one for Mumbai. After the 2005 deluge,the Central government had ordered a doppler radar for the city on priority. The four- year wait ended last year when imported customised radar from China was brought to the city. The commissioning despite,Chief Minister Ashok Chavans directive,was delayed as permission for Chinese experts was hard to come by. The Navy objected to the stay of the Chinese team for almost a month in the highly sensitive Colaba Navy Nagar area. It was,therefore,decided to send the radar to Delhi for commissioning, a state official said. The radar will be the first on the western coast of India. The eastern coast,hit by cyclones annually,has three doppler radars. A doppler radar emits microwaves that peek inside moving weather systems and bounce back signs of approaching weather that weathermen analyse to issue cyclone or thunderstorm warnings. The technology is more advanced than existing cyclone detection radars.
