EDMRC Kangra
AapdaDRISHTI

Assessments & Technical Studies

Disaster Research & Insights for Strategic Humanitarian Thought-leadership & Innovation — EDMRC's assessment, applied-research and knowledge-product line, supporting government, inter-agency and development-partner clients across the Western Himalayan region.

AapdaDRISHTI draws on three decades of EduCARE India field practice in Kangra and adjoining districts, the in-house GIS / HAM radio lab at EDMRC Kangra campus, and a deployable assessment workforce trained through the HimNIRMANAC programme. Our methodology is aligned with the Sendai Framework, PDNA, NDMA and NIDM technical guidelines.

Six core service lines

01

Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment (HVCA)

Hazard, Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment at village, panchayat and institutional-campus scale. Combines secondary-data review, terrain and exposure analysis, and household-level field documentation through trained CRP / Aapda Mitra cadre.

Aligned with NDMA HVCA guidelines and Sendai Framework Priority 1 (Understanding Disaster Risk).

02

Building Vulnerability Assessment & Rapid Visual Screening

Field RVS of building stock using NDMA / IIT-derived methodology, delivered through the HimNIRMANAC NirmanNAYAK workforce. The same surveyor cadre that builds safer in routine times becomes the rapid damage-assessment surge capacity in post-event conditions.

Year-1 deployment capacity: 3,500–6,000 buildings/year across all 18 blocks of Kangra District, scaling in Year-2 with cohort expansion.

03

Post-Disaster Damage & Loss Assessment (D&L)

Sectoral damage assessment, household-level loss documentation, and recovery-needs identification following a trigger event. Outputs designed to interface with DDMA / SDMA reporting formats and UN Country Team frameworks.

PDNA-compatible methodology. Field deployment within 72 hours of trigger event.

04

Village & Institutional DM Plan Studies

Village Disaster Management Plan (VDMP) and Institutional Disaster Management Plan (IDMP) preparation per NIDM technical guidelines, with full stakeholder consultation and inter-agency convergence built in.

Foundational reference: first Naddi VDMP (2015–16); subsequent portfolio of 40+ DM plans across Kangra and Hamirpur — including colleges, institutions, temple complexes and offices.

05

GIS Hazard Mapping, Terrestrial Survey & Spatial Analysis

Block- and panchayat-level hazard mapping, exposure analysis and risk visualisation. Terrestrial total-station survey for high-precision building footprint, retrofit scoping and damage-volume measurement. Garmin eTrex 10 handheld GNSS units for distributed field waypoint logging.

Integration with Bhuvan, OpenStreetMap and Himachal Pradesh state GIS portals.

06

Drone / UAV-Based Visual Assessment

DJI Mini 4 Pro UAV operational now (sub-250g nano category — no DGCA Yellow Zone permission burden), enabling rapid post-event reconnaissance, oblique imagery and basic photogrammetry with ground control points using Agisoft Metashape. DJI Matrice 4 Enterprise / IdeaForge-class system under procurement for FY 2026–27.

Optimised for fast deployment across mixed permission zones in the Western Himalayan region.

Documenting structural failure modes in traditional Himalayan masonry construction — north view of a damaged building, Kangra District
Field damage assessment in progress — documenting differential structural failure modes in traditional Himalayan masonry construction for post-event D&L reporting, Kangra District.

Track record

  • Naddi VDMP (2015–16). First village disaster management plan in Kangra District based on NIDM guidelines; foundational template for subsequent panchayat work.
  • 40+ Disaster Management Plans Delivered. Across colleges and institutions in Kangra and Hamirpur districts, with select temple complexes and institutional/office settings.
  • AapdaPAR Foundation Training (2020–2025). Delivered across all panchayats of Kangra District; currently moving into panchayat- and cluster-level institutionalisation phase.
  • DDMA Kangra Partnership. Ongoing Training of Masons, Carpenters & Bar-Binders on Hazard-Resistant Construction, organised in partnership with the District Disaster Management Authority Kangra.
  • UNDP — DDMA Kangra Placement. First external graduate of EDMRC's One-Year Certificate in Disaster Management (focus: Landslide Management and Building Vulnerability Assessment) currently placed at DDMA Kangra under UNDP.
  • D-IAG Kangra Campaign 2026. "A Year of Volunteer Action for Resilient Kangra" co-launched with DDMA Kangra on International Volunteer Day, 5 December 2025, under the District Inter-Agency Group.

Methodology alignment

All AapdaDRISHTI assessment work is aligned with international and national disaster-management frameworks: Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, PDNA (Post-Disaster Needs Assessment), the NDMA National Disaster Management Plan, NIDM technical guidelines, the HP State Disaster Management Plan, and Sphere Standards for humanitarian assessment.

Request a Capability Statement HimNIRMANAC Workforce
Field Evidence

Assessment work in progress

Household-level vulnerability and needs interview, Kangra District
HVCA · Household survey

EDMRC-affiliated CRP / Aapda Mitra cadre conducting community-tier vulnerability documentation for HVCA and panchayat-resilience planning.

Detailed inspection of structural damage — corner masonry failure
RVS · Structural detail

Detail of differential failure in traditional masonry — gable collapse, mortar degradation, exposed timber roof structure. The kind of failure mode catalogued in Rapid Visual Screening.

EDMRC building-assessment team with total station survey instrument
Survey · Total station

Pankaj Kumar (HimNIRMANAC Programme Lead) and field team with the total station survey rig, Mission Hill, Kangra. Used for high-precision footprint, retrofit scoping and damage-volume work.