CM to inaugurate Platinum Jubilee of Indian Roads Congress Monday in Bhubaneswar

By Subrat S Maharana,
18 Jan, Bhubaneswar

The 75th annual session of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) would be formally inaugurated tomorrow , Monday at the sprawling Janata Maidan in the heart of Odisha capital city Bhubaneswar.
The Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would inaugurate the five day event while the Union Minister of Road Transport , Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari would be the Chief Guest on the occasion.
However, the Platinum Jubilee of IRC kick started on Sunday afternoon with Odisha Rural Development Minister Badri Narayan Patra inaugurating the Technical Exhibition organized inside the meeting place. The technical exhibition offers exposure to emergent technologies, new ideas and concepts, modern equipments and machineries relating to designing and construction of roads and bridges.
The Platinum Jubilee session would be a platform to share the knowledge and experience of experts in various fields of road engineering , said Sunil Bhowmik, the president of IRC at a press conference here Sunday.
Around 5,000 delegates including road engineering experts from India and abroad are attending the event which has six technical sessions. Besides, consultants of highways fields , manugacturers of highways related machineries and instrument use and Contractors , Software developers are participating the annual session , he said.
Important issues like use of modern technology in construction of roads, use of alternative materials like waste materials of steel industries like slag , fly ash and other waste products in road construction and designing of roads so as to prevent accidents would be deliberated during the session . In view of the changing scenario , IRC would also recommend the Government improved methods of administration, planning design , construction , operation , use and maintenance of roads, Bhwmik said.
Similarly, compiling a computer database of roads and its use for better management and undertaking of necessary repairs will also be discussed in the Congress, said SS Nahar, Secretary General , IRC.
Among others Director General, Ministry of Road Transport, SN Das, Odisha EIC-cum-Secretary Works Department , Nalini Kanta Pradhan were present at the Press meet.