Patna: Indian Institute of Technology-Patna (IIT-P) director T N Singh, on Thursday, said the role of civil engineers in national development is crucial as they design and maintain essential infrastructure like roads, bridges, water systems and buildings, which underpins economic growth, public welfare and quality of life, while ensuring safety, sustainability and resilience against challenges like climate change.Inaugurating a 12-day training programme for the engineers of the state rural works department (RWD), organised by the civil and environmental engineering department of IIT-P here, Singh described them as community builders who create the physical foundation for societal progress, from urban planning to vital utilities, impacting every aspect of daily life. “The engineers often face criticism for the failure of their projects, but they should never get disheartened by these criticisms; rather, they should learn from their mistakes and improve the quality of their work,” he said.Around 60 engineers from RWD are attending the training programme aimed at building their capacity and improving the quality and resilience of rural infrastructure in the state.Giving details of the training schedule, programme convener Vaibhav Singhal said the training sessions would concentrate on aspects such as hydraulic studies, bridge waterway hydraulics and scour protection, geotechnical investigation and foundation design, bridge design and pavement engineering.Ramakar Jha of NIT-Patna and Subrata Hait, Nitin Kumar, Arvind Kumar Jha and Arpit Jain of IIT-P interacted with the trainees and provided them with the necessary inputs of civil engineering works.
