Bhubaneswar: The 84th annual session of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) will be held in Bhubaneswar from November 7 to 10. This conference is set to take place in Odisha for the sixth time. The 75th IRC conference was previously held in Odisha in 2015.
Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja has emphasized making all preparations meticulously to organize this important and prestigious conference in Bhubaneswar in an orderly manner.
The Indian Roads Congress is a high-level organization for highway engineers and stakeholders, playing a key role in providing necessary advice on national standards for road construction, design, maintenance, operation, road safety, and other areas, while enhancing road quality in the country.
IRC was established in 1934. The 84th conference is scheduled to be held at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar. On the day before the conference begins, November 6, a technical exhibition will be inaugurated.
More than 2,000 delegates, including local participants and those from various parts of the country, will attend this event. On November 7, the 235th Council meeting of the Indian Roads Congress will be held; on the 8th, the 85th meeting of the Highway Research Board; on the 9th, the 84th business meeting of IRC; and on the 10th, the 236th Council meeting. Each day will feature full-day technical sessions with presentations of research papers, along with other programs as per the IRC agenda.
Every evening, cultural programs will be organized in collaboration with the Odisha State Odia Language, Literature, and Culture Department. After the conference, delegates will have the opportunity to visit various heritage and tourist sites in Odisha at their own expense.
For the 84th Indian Roads Congress, the Chief Secretary serves as the Chairman of the State Advisory Committee, while the Secretary of the State Works Department is the Chairman of the Organizing Committee. Similarly, 18 different committees have been formed to ensure the smooth organization of this conference.
In the meeting, discussions were held on traffic management on roads adjacent to the venue and in the surrounding areas, as well as traffic control from Bhubaneswar airport and railway station, in the context of organizing this conference.
Arrangements for all VIPs and state guests will be made as per government protocol. Necessary fire safety measures at the venue, emergency medical and first aid facilities, and help desks at both the airport and railway station will be operational, as informed in the meeting.
Among others in the meeting, Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Anu Garg, Additional Chief Secretary of the General Administration and Public Grievance Department Surendra Kumar, Principal Secretary of the Works Department Sanjay Kumar Singh, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Tourism Department Balwant Singh, Secretary of the Odia Language, Literature, and Culture Department Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya, BDA Vice Chairman N. Thirumala Nayak, Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner S. Dev Datta Singh, Special Secretary of the Home Department R.K. Sharma, and senior officials from various concerned departments participated in the discussions.
