The 'Jalabhilekh' mobile app facilitates public and local authority input for water body identification. A near real-time land use change detection algorithm, integrated with Google Earth Engine and Firebase Cloud Database, successfully identified, and geotagged 700 water bodies in Puducherry with 76.8% accuracy. The Puducherry Government utilized the app to restore 194 water bodies, showcasing its potential for wider global application in water resource management and conservation efforts.

Geotagging: Users access water body details like UID, status, and locality via an interactive map using OpenStreetMap. Know your WB: Allows users to search water bodies by name or unique ID and filter results by region or locality. Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) Change: Visualizes land use changes around water bodies from 2014 to 2019, soon expanding to 1990-2014 data. Tour to WB: Offers virtual tours of water bodies with drone-captured videos, enabling remote exploration. Grievance: Includes a form for users to report issues like encroachment to authorities, promoting community involvement in water body management.

The 'Jalabhilekh' mobile app addresses the global challenge of protecting surface water resources amidst climate change by employing remote sensing-based identification and monitoring.

City-level implementation was carried out in Puducherry.

Copyright granted on Dec 10, 2020. Registration No: SW-13979/2020

Under Process

Viable

Safeguarding surface water bodies through rigorous monitoring and near-real time information update.

CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur

Er Asheesh Sharma, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEERI & Dr Krishna Khairnar Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEERI

Er Asheesh Sharma

Identify, monitor, and protect water bodies from encroachment.

The software is developed solely to showcase the proof of concept through a case study of Puducherry, India. For large-scale implementation, necessary customization needs to be coordinated with the developer.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/uI-UZgyqsDU?si=3lF3GTRRhcHtqwtC, https://www.youtube.com/embed/q5K9CLksP1Y?si=EVYRJNnEv1wRQVy4