India Road Congress in Patna; Changing face of Bihar

HOPE FOR REPAIR

At the invitation of the Government of Bihar, the 70^th Annual Session of the Indian Road Congress (IRC) is being held in Patna at the historical Gandhi Maidan during 14^th to 17^th November, 2009. This Session of Indian Road Congress is being held in Bihar after a gap of 17. Prior to this, Bihar had the glory of holding three such sessions, which had been held respectively in January 1961, December 1981 and Nov-December 1992.

         Formally inaugurating the session of the Congress, CM Nitish Kumar requested the delegates and other attending engineers, experts and architects to design roads which may be suitable to rural areas in terms of cost efficiency. He also urged the engineers to develop design and suggest measures to repair the Mahatma Gandhi Setu which is in shambles. This is the only road bridge which connects north Bihar to the rest of the state including Patna. This longest man made bridge had been inaugurated in May 1982 which cost 65 crores only. The 5.575 Kilometer long bridge has now developed several cracks leading to serious structural problems. The engineers in the state government have been desperately trying to repair it for several years but in vain. They do not simply have the expertise and technical know how to deal such huge technical problems.

         Expressing his helplessness, the chief minister said that in spite of his best efforts in terms of man and money, he has not been so far able to repair this bridge up to what he called his own satisfaction. He therefore requested the eminent scientists and engineers who have assembled here to participate in this congress to suggest methods and measures to rectify the problems.

                    This congress, among other things, is scheduled to discuss among other things, to promote and encourage the science and practice of building and maintenance of roads, provide channel for expression of collective opinions with regard to road construction, evolve ways and promote use of standard specifications and latest structural designs, to suggest and share experiences and achievements regarding education, experiment and research in field of construction and maintenance of roads, to hold meetings and seminars at regular intervals to deliberate upon technical questions, to suggest to the government laws related to development, improvement and protection of roads and to suggest improved methods of administration, planning design, construction, operation, use and maintenance of roads.

The IRC is also expected to discuss to establish, furnish and maintain libraries and museums for enriching the science of road construction and publish proceedings, journals, periodicals and other literature to promote Society in helping keep the roads in good condition.

         Nitish Kumar has been desperately trying to improve the road conditions in the state which is considered to be one of the major banes to development. He also enhanced the plan allocation for roads from Rs 1,899 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 2,565 crore which is 16% of the total plan outlay. The holding of this IRC is being projected as a major initiative by the state government to remove the stereotype image of Bihar in areas of infrastructure especially roads.