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Report On Activities
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A BRIEF REPORT ON
22ND NATIONAL CONVENTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
The Institution of Engineers (India), Assam State Centre organized the
prestigious annual event of the Institution the 22nd National Convention of
Mechanical Engineers on the theme “Energy Technologies – Strategies for Optimal
Utilization of Natural Resources” on 9 - 10 September 2006 at Guwahati in
collaboration with the Centre for Energy, IIT Guwahati.
Hon’ble Minister of Industry,
Commerce & Power, Govt. of Asom, Shri Pradyut Bordoloi has kindly consented to
grace the Inaugural Session of the Convention as the Chief Guest.
In his speech, Dr. Bordoloi
expressed that Sustained Rural Energy planning by utilizing rural energy sources
is a key factor to provide constant electricity supply to rural areas as well as
urban areas. He urged upon the engineers to provide a roadmap and identify
different strategies and technologies for the better use of natural resources of
this area so as to harness our resources in an efficient manner.
The Keynote Address on the main
theme was delivered by Dr. S Basu, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Delhi. On the other hand the State of the Art Lecture
was delivered by Shri J K Talukdar, Director (HR & BD), Oil India Ltd, New
Delhi.
Dr. N Mate, Consultant,
Kirloskar Oil Engines ltd., Pune delivered the Dr. S C Bhattacharyya Memorial
Lecture on “Renewable Energy Technologies and Strategies for Conserving Natural
Resources” on 10 September 2006 where as Dr. S P Luthra Memorial Lecture was
delivered by Dr. S C Bhattacharyya, Former Professor of Asian Institute of
Technology, Bangkok on “Reflections on Energy, Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency” on 9 September 2006.
During the Convention two
Eminent Mechanical Engineers viz Er. J K Talukdar, Director (HR & BD), Oil India
Ltd, New Delhi and Prof. S C Bhattacharyya, Special Advisor, International
Energy Initiative, Kolkata & Former Professor of Asian Institute of Technology,
Bangkok were felicitated on 9th September 2006 for their outstanding services in
the field of mechanical engineering.
In the Board Meeting of the
Mechanical Engineering Division held on 9 September 2006, eight Council Members
from different parts of the Country were present. All total 18(eighteen)
technical papers were presented in three Technical Sessions held during two-day
convention.
In the Valedictory session, the
Convenor of the Technical Committee briefly reported about important points of
the technical sessions. The Chairman, Dr. P K Goswami concluded the session with
his presidential speech. In the evening a Cultural Show, performed by the Songs
and Drama Division of the Ministry of Information Broadcasting, Govt. of India
was organized for entertainment of delegates & guests coming from different
parts of the Country.
Workshop on
`National Building Code of India 2005’ jointly organized by
The Institution of Engineers (India) and Bureau of Indian Standards
at Guwahati on 29 & 30 November 2007
As a part of the series of workshops being organized by the Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS) for implementation and dissemination of information about the
National Building Code of India 2005, a Workshop on NBC 2005 (15th in the
series) was organized jointly by BIS and the Institution of Enginees (India),
Assam State Centre on 29 & 30 November 2007 in Guwahati.
The Workshop was inaugurated by Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Hon’ble Minister of
Health & Family Welfare, Guwahati Development Department, Science & Technology,
etc, Govt of Assam. Dr Sarma spoke about Government’s resolve to transform
Guwahati into a modern city and an example of safe and sustainable development.
While informing that some progress has already been made in implementation of
this revised Code, NBC 2005, he assured that the Code would be effectively
implemented in the State of Assam. He said that NBC 2005 is one of the finest
codes and BIS has responded to the national need by keeping it updated. He said,
it is now necessary to create more and more awareness about the Code at all
levels, for which BIS has rightly taken up a massive drive. He emphasized that
the Code has all the ingredients for protecting the society at large with
respect to quality, health and safety and it must be implemented by the
authorities and used by building professionals and education institutions.
Shri Shiv Kumar, General Manager (Construction), N.F. Railway, Guwahati was the
Guest of Honour. He laid emphasis on adoption of the Code by all the Govt and
private construction agencies including Railways, PWD, Water Resources
Department, Irrigation Department and private builders and developers for
ensuring safe and efficient constructions. He informed that Indian Railways has
already taken necessay steps in this direction.
Earlier Shri J.N. Sharma, Organizing Secretary of the Workshop welcomed the
dignitaries. Shri A.K. Mitra, Chairman, The Institution of Engineers (India),
Assam State Centre informed about the activities of IE(I) and the gave
background information about organization of this Workshop. Shri V. Suresh, Vice
Chairman, NBC Technical Committee informed about the actions necessary at state
level for revising and revamping the local building byelaws and other regulatory
media in line with NBC 2005. Shri Sanjay Pant, Joint Director, Bureau of Indian
Standards and Member Secretary, National Building Code Technical Committee of
BIS gave the programme objectives and about the framework of the Code brought
out after extensive work by the National Building Code Technical Committee of
BIS under the Chairmanship of Padmashri Dr. H.C. Visvesvaraya. Briefly informing
about the genesis of the Code in 1970 at the instance of Planning Commission and
subsequent revisions thereof, Shri Pant brought out the important dimensions of
actual implementation of NBC 2005 so that all the improvements and technological
developments as reflected in the Code could percolate down to common masses. He
informed about the efforts made by BIS by approaching the Central Government,
all the State Governments, Housing Finance Institutions, Academic Institutions,
etc for the purpose. He brought out as to how best our aim of safe and
sustainable habitat could be achieved through proper direction and how NBC 2005
could be effectively utilized for the purpose, while also keeping this National
Code updated. Prof P.C. Baruah, Hony. Secretary, The Institution of Engineers
(India), Assam State Centre gave vote of thanks.
In the Technical Sessions, the various speakers presented details about
different parts and sections of the Code and particularly explained the
important modifications made in this revision. Shri Sanjay Pant, in the first
technical session gave an overview of NBC 2005 including the application and
philosophy of 26 chapters covered under 11 parts and section/subsections
thereunder. Bringing home the point that it is not the disaster but the badly
planned, designed and constructed buildings that kill people, he explained how
the code can be effectively utilized at state level by the authorities and govt.
and private construction agencies to help erect safe buildings and protect life
and property of our citizens particularly in the event of a natural calamity.
Shri V. Suresh, former CMD, HUDCO explained the provisions on administration,
development control rules and general building requirements and implementation
aspects of overall provisions of NBC 2005 by the state authorities. Shri S.K.
Dheri, an expert in fire safety explained how the codal provisions could be
utilized to plan and construct buildings which are safe in the event of fire by
appropriately implementing the provisions on fire prevention, life safety and
fire protection measures given in the Code. He said, these are particularly
important for cities like Guwahati, where more and more malls, multiplexes and
high rise buildings are coming up. Dr Chandan Ghosh from National Institute of
Disaster Management explained about the applicability of the provisions of NBC
2005 for foundation design and landslide mitigation in the hilly states of
North-East. Shri K.S. Pruthi, former Scientist, FRI, Dehradun explained the
provisions on design and construction of building using timber and bamboo. He
emphasized the need to effectively put into use bamboo which is a versatile
building material and abundantly available in North-Eastern region of the
country particularly Assam. It is most environment friendly energy efficient
building material, being a renewable resource with low gestation period. Dr A.K.
Mittal, an expert in structural design gave a detailed presentation on
structural design of buildings for safety against various loads, forces and
effects including the natural disasters like earthquake. During the technical
sessions, lot of interactive discussions were held with the participants and
large number of queries of the delegates on various technical and implementation
related aspects were duly answered. Shri K.D. Debkrori as Chairman of the
Technical Sessions conducted all the technical sessions effectively.
The Concluding Session was chaired by Shri A.K. Bhutani, Commissioner &
Secretary, Guwahati Development Deptt, Govt of Assam who emphasized that it was
essential to implement the provisions of NBC 2005 in letter and spirit so that
the technological developments percolate down to poorest of the poor. Shri
Bhutani assured early and effective implementation of the Code by the Govt. As
the Code contains all the essential provisions for safe design and construction
of building in rural as well as the urban areas and plains and hilly regions,
the Workshop strongly recommended for its effective implementation in the state
of Assam and other North Eastern States. The delegates thanked IE(I) and BIS for
arranging such a comprehensive exercise of dissemination of information about
the revised Building Code. The following recommendations were emerged:
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The local building
byelaws and other regulatory media in the State should be completely reviewed
and revised to bring the same in line with the revised NBC 2005.
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The existing State
PWD specifications, codes and manuals should be revised in line with NBC 2005.
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The Master Plan
should also be reflective of the concerns of NBC 2005.
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Efforts should be
made for capacity building/training of all building professionals and work
force involved in building construction activity.
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The curriculum of
civil engineering and architecture should be upgraded to encompass NBC 2005 so
as to ensure proper understanding and training of the provisions of the
Building Code right from academic level.
Shri A.K. Mitra,
Chairman, IE(I), Assam State Centre informed that the Institution will follow up
with the Govt and other concerned authorities for the early implementation of
the above recommendations.
About 150 delegates representing local bodies/authorities such as Town and
Country Planning Department, Govt of Assam, Guwahati Metropolitan Development
Authority, Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Kolkata Metropolitan Development
Authority, Durgapur Municipal Corporation; govt construction
departments/agencies such as PWD, Govt of Assam, Irrigation Deptt, Govt of
Assam, Water Resources Deptt, Govt of Assam, Assam State Electricity Board,
North-East Frontier Railway, PHE Deptt, Govt of Assam; private construction
agencies; consulting organizations/ building professionals such as architects,
engineers, town planners, valuers; public sector enterprises such as Assam
Police Housing Corporation; other important organizations, R&D institutions and
academic institutions such as CBRI Rorkee, IIT Guwahati, Assam Engineering
College, Guwahati, etc participated in the above highly successful Workshop.
Dr S.K. Kakoty, Jt Hony Secretary, IE(I), Assam State Centre thanked all the
dignitaries and the delegates for making it convenient to participate in this
important national event. |
