Understanding the fragility of the Himalayas is the need of the hour
Understanding the fragility of the Himalayas is the need of the hour
Dehradun, Jan 19
A call was made to take measures for safe and balanced development in hilly areas at seminar organised on engineering in hilly areas according to Indian standards held at Graphic Era Deemed University here today.
Vice-Chancellor Dr. Narpinder Singh said that challenges in hilly regions include unstable environments, changing climatic conditions, and limited accessibility. As an educational institution, it is our responsibility to find solutions to these challenges and educate our youth in the direction of safe and balanced hill area development.
Director of Bureau of Indian Standards, Dehradun, Saurabh Tiwari, said that the development of hilly areas is as important as that of plains. Considering recent natural calamities, understanding the fragility of hilly areas has become a necessity. Following standards during construction can help cope with these challenges.
Expert Dr. Anbalagan Rathinam said that the Himalayan region is extremely sensitive to geological instabilities, heavy rainfall, flash floods, and landslides. He added that construction activities are rapidly increasing, but if these are carried out without understanding the actual ground conditions, hill instability rises and issues like landslides become even more severe.
Over 100 government officials and experts participated in this seminar. Eight technical sessions were conducted, covering topics such as slope stability modeling, landslide early warning systems, site investigation techniques, Himalayan hazards in changing climatic scenarios, and geosynthetics for hill excavation.
This seminar was jointly organized by Graphic Era Deemed University and the Bureau of Indian Standards. The program was attended by Nakkala Praveen Sai, Engineer Minimol Korulla, BIS Nodal Officer Dr. Brijesh Prasad, along with other teachers and students.
