"…students should be taken to construction sites and given live training there.” – Ajay Kumar Singhal
The two day National Conference on Technical Advancements in Civil Engineering (NCTACE) 2016 being conducted at LPU, concluded today. Many eminent speakers spoke at the conference and many significant conclusions were arrived at. Among the attendees were researchers from IIT Roorkee, Aligarh Muslim University, NIT Kurukshetra, Rourkela, Jalandhar, Allahabad, Delhi Technological University, IISc Bangalore, and BITS Pilani.
Furthering the idea that scientific design of buildings and use of quality construction material are capable of preventing structural damage in the event of natural disasters, Dr Raju Sarkar, Associate Professor, Delhi Technical University (DTU), highlighted the importance of tie-beams, shear walls, and other safety measures. He said that adding these features ensures safety of the structure and its occupants. He said that high rise buildings should not have soft storeys as these could lead to failure of the tall structure during an earthquake. He also suggested that concrete blocks, cement, wooden frames, and tiles that are locally made are most useful for this and also encourages many small scale enterprises in the process.
In a case study conducted by LPU Professors Kirti Goyal and Ambika Thakur, Jalandhar’s waste disposal problems were analysed. According to census 2011-12, the population of Jalandhar City is 22 lakhs approximately. A total of 300-400 tonnes of garbage, collected from the city, is dumped on open land in the Wariana dump on the periphery of the city, generating leachate and toxic gases near the disposal site, which is harmful for the citizens living around it. But the major issue is that there is no seggregation of biodegradable or non-biodegradable waste. It was concluded that this should be the first step towards efficient and environment friendly waste disposal.
Mr. Ajay Kumar Singhal, DGM from Simplex Infrastructure Limited expressed that there is need to reduce the gap between practical concepts of academia and industrial training. He was of the opinion that students should be taken to construction sites and given live training there, so that they may gain a clear idea about the requirement, planning, and execution of actual projects.
LPU Chancellor Mr. Ashok Mittal thanked all the participants and said that such types of conferences are instrumental in bringing out positive solutions towards problems facing our society.
