Mangalore : University Vice Chancellor K. Byrappa has said that the university will start a postgraduate course in geography at the University College from the next academic year.

Speaking at a conference on ‘Remote sensing and GIS applications on coastal management’ here on Tuesday, he said that the university had been running undergraduate course in geography since 1960.

Mr. Byrappa said that they would recruit retired lecturers and start the course. Later, separate course faculty would be selected, he said.

Mr. Byarappa said that work on the restoration of Ravindra Kalabhavan, a heritage structure on the University College campus, would start soon. The State government had sanctioned Rs. 2 crore for the purpose. Only one portion of the kalabhavan was in use now, while the remaining portion was being used as classrooms. The restoration would be done after shifting classrooms. The kalabhavan would be far bigger after restoration, he said.

In his keynote address, Ranganath Navalgund, senior adviser, Space Application Centre of Indian Space Research Organisation, said that remote sensing had brought a drastic change in the way farming and fishing were being carried out. Constellation of satellites launched by the county had helped, among others, to study crop yield and find places in the sea where fish would be available. The remote sensing and the Geographic Information System applications had helped study depletion of mangroves along the coast and take actions to restore it.

As many as 200 delegates from different parts of the country are participating in the two-day conference held at the Ravindra Kalabhavan.