Building a Transport GIS in Manipur 
By Keith R Johnson 

PART 1

Manipur
Manipur is one of the seven North-Eastern States in India with a total area of 22,327 sq. km.and a population now of just over two million. Imphal, the centrally located capital has an elevation of about 800m above sea level .To the east and south east of Manipur is Myanmar, to the north is Nagaland; to the west is Assam and to the south-west is Mizoram. In 1991 the population of Manipur was 1,837,149. There are nine Districts: -

Valley: -Imphal (East pop 330,480) & (West pop 380,801), Thoubal (pop 293,958), and Bishnupur (pop 180,773)

Hills: Senapati (pop 208,406), Ukhrul (pop 109,275), Chandel (71,014), Churachandpur (pop 176,184) and Tamenglong (pop 86,278)

The Imphal Valley (1,843 sq km) is surrounded by hills which rise in places to 3,000 m. Another smaller valley at or near sea level lies on the western border between the Barak and Jiri rivers (395 sq km). Whereas the valleys comprise about 10% of the land area they are the home to over two thirds of the people. Loktak Lake - the largest in NE India lies in the Imphal Valley varies in size from 60 to 260 sq km depending on the season.

The climate is pleasant with temperatures ranging from 0 to 38 degrees. Rains occur during the south-west monsoon generally from June to September and weather is cooler and drier for the remaining months. At the airport the rainfall May through August averages 225mm compared to 35mm November through March. In the hill regions the steep gradients create fast run-off of surface water leading to low water retention in the soil and also to landslips interrupting transport communications. Due to poor drainage the rains cause many roads to become impassable.

The oldest rocks in Manipur include shales, slates, siltstone, sandstone and quartzites. Geologically, Manipur can be said to belong to recent formation, which has implications on the prospect of mineral exploitation. The surface rock is loose and soft in nature and, therefore vulnerable to the weathering process. This peculiar characteristic also accentuates erosion, silting and sedimentation.

Hill soils being acidic are not suitable for much plant growth and traditional shifting cultivation together with indiscriminate cutting and burning of forest (jhum) over the years have seriously affected the ecological balance leaving the soil barren. In the valley region the deep soils are poorly drained and low in available phosphorus content. They are also susceptible to flood hazards. Peat soils are found in the low-lying areas and marshy lands around Loktak Lake.

In 1987 the total length of surfaced roads including National and State Highways, Major and Other District Roads and Inter-Village Roads was 4,279 km.

Manipur is one of the least industrialized states in India. Limited infrastructure and inadequate power supply do not help this situation.

The PCCS Project (Project Co-ordinating Consultancy Services)
The Government of India is proposing, with the help of a World Bank Loan to prepare a major states' roads upgrading, major maintenance and rehabilitation program with the aim to stimulate economic development by improving accessibility.
The project started with the Strategic Options Study; the result of which was the identification of 1,300 km of State, Major District and Other District road to be assessed in more detail in the Feasibility Study, which is now in progress. (National Highways, Inter-Village and Village Roads are excluded from the project). To assist this work a comprehensive Transport GIS has been built.

Major Components of the GIS

The major components of the GIS are: -

• Road Network

• Towns, Villages

• Public Transport

• Earth Sciences

• Raster Images including Topographical Mapping

• Other

Before looking at each of the above components the choice of software, the method of digitizing and the use of handheld GPS are discussed.


Choice of Software
Some of the reasons, not necessarily in order of importance, for choosing MapInfo were

• its successful application on other similar projects

• SQL processor with string, numerical functions for analyzing geographic and non-geographic data.

• Availability of ProViewer a MapInfo facility to provide mapping and information on a CD that can be viewed but not changed.

• Interfaces with MS Office (Excel & Access), AutoCAD, ArcInfo

• Buffer facility

• Facility for heads-up digitizing (see below)

• Ability to include photographs (or indeed other raster images in a table)

• Ease of use to refine the digitizing of roads etc as the project progresses)

• MapBasic - application language

• Same "feel" as many Windows programs making it easier for senior staff to use.

• Raster image processing

• People, once trained in ArcInfo or AutoCAD, often move jobs to capitalize on their "new" skills

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