• The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) Symposium on Sustainable Development of Dams & River Basins was inaugurated by Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister for Jal Shakti on 24th Feb.

    • International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) in collaboration with Central Water Commission (CWC), Dam Rehabilitation Improvement Project (DRIP) and National Hydrology Project (NHP) is organising Symposium on “Sustainable Development of Dams and River Basins” under the aegis of ICOLD at New Delhi.

    • More than 300 delegates from across the country and abroad will participate in the Symposium.

    • Non-fossil fuels such as hydro, solar, wind, bio energy, these sources of power are clean and cost effective.

    • The symposium is being organised to provide an excellent opportunity to Indian Dam Engineering Professionals and Agencies to share their experiences, ideas and latest developments in new materials and construction technologies, advancement in investigation techniques, best engineering practices, dam safety issues etc. 

    • Besides this offers opportunity to networking with the world renowned dam experts from different countries and global organizations involved in Dam Construction, management and operation and maintenance for mutual benefits.

    • The achievement of flagship programmes of Ministry of Jal Shakti namely Dam Rehabilitation Improvement Project (DRIP) presented to the Global Dam Community who are keen and looking forward to India’s development and successful implementation of DRIP as well as NHP.

    • These projects are to improve the safety and operational performance of large dams and its appurtenances structures in addition to institutional strengthening and National Hydrology Project (NHP).

    • In addition, the Dam Safety Bill which has been approved by Lok Sabha, in order to put regulatory mechanism in place, to provide for proper surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of all dams in India, which has been enacted will be publicised.

    • From 43 countries, 285 full text of technical papers received from the national and international dam experts out of which 130 presentations will be presented during the 27 technical sessions besides more than 30 presentations in the seven workshops are being organized.

    • There will also be a Special Sessions on “Innovative Financing in Dam Projects, Use of Geo-synthetics in Dam Engineering.

    • Besides six workshops are also planned on Numerical Analysis of Dams, Roller Compacted Concrete Dams, Reservoir Operation for Handling of Extreme Events, Life Extension Technologies and Strategies for Aging Dams, Sedimentation Management in Reservoirs in Sustainable Development and Seismic Analysis of Dam Design and Safety Evaluation of Existing dams.

    • An exhibition is also being organized during the symposium as a technology showcase to meet the challenges of 21st century for the development of Dams and River basins.

    • The central hub of ICOLD symposium will be multi-functional Exhibitions where products and services of interest to dam community will be on display.

About ICOLD

    • The International Commission on Large Dams, or ICOLD, is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the sharing of professional information and knowledge of the design, construction, maintenance, and impact of large dams.

    • It was founded in 1928 and has its central office in Paris, France.

    • It consists of 100 member national committees which have a total membership of about 10,000 individuals.

    • Mission says

    1. ICOLD leads the profession in setting standards and guidelines to ensure that dams are built and operated safely, efficiently, economically, and are environmentally sustainable and socially equitable.

    2. ICOLD is assisting nations to prepare to meet the challenges of the 21st century in the development and management of the world’s water and hydropower resources.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)