HYDERABAD:Three-day international conference on “Sustainable Development with Civil Engineering” started on Thursday under the banner of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro.
Vice Chancellor Mehran University Dr Taha Hussain Ali, who presided over the inaugural session of the conference, said no development can be sustained without an educated society and there is a need that all stakeholders should make sincere efforts to bring sustainable development in all sectors of life.
He said engineers, particularly civil engineers, have great responsibilities to make the destiny of future generations bright by planning and designing the civic infrastructure which could help in bringing sustainable development in all sectors of the country.
He appreciated the efforts of the Department of Civil Engineering of Mehran University for organizing the conference and hoped that the findings of the conference would help the government in bringing progress and prosperity to the country.
VC Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam, Dr Fateh Marri, who was the chief guest of the event, said the engineers can play a vital role in moving the country towards the right direction of development.
He praised the services of the country’s engineers by saying that it was their designed project — Ghulam Muhammad Barrage, Jamshoro — that brought millions of acres of land of lower Sindh under cultivation. There is a need for more such types of projects for bringing progress and prosperity in the country, he said and emphasized the need for effective planning for boosting urban agriculture so that the barren land could be reclaimed for the betterment of the country.
Dr Douglas Barito from Brazil said in his lecture that urban development was necessary for achieving the goals of sustainable development. The goals included safe drinking water, proper drainage system, and affordable energy, he said, adding that the United Nations had also emphasized achieving these goals for sustainable development in any country of the world.
At present, he informed that there was no safe drinking water for 6.2 billion people in the world while 3.6 billion people have no drainage system. Similarly, he said that 2.3 billion people in the world are waiting for basic health and sanitation facilities while 759 million people have no electric or alternate energy facility. Researchers, experts, and engineers should realize these facts and find out solutions, he added.
Chairman Department of Civil Engineering of Mehran University Dr Rizwan Memon, who is also the chairperson of the conference, informed that the organizers have received 128 research papers, of which 60 have been selected for different sessions of the conference.
The researchers and experts from Brazil, Australia, and Malaysia will address the different sessions of the conference, he added.