HIGHLIGHTS oF THE WoRKSHoP oN “MoVEMENT oF oVER WEIGHT AND oVERDIMENSIoNAL CoNSIGNMENT (oWC/oDC)” HELD AT PATNA, BHoPAL AND HYDERABAD IN MAY & JULY 2013 1.
WoRKSHoP AT PATNA
The Indian National Group of International Association of Bridge & Structural Engineers (ING-IABSE) organized a half-day workshop on “Movement of Overweight & Over-dimensional consignment at Hotel Chanakya, Patna on 30th May 2013. The workshop was sponsored by the Hydraulic Trailers Owners Association (HTOA). The workshop was well attended by more than 60 delegates from various parts of the country. The proceedings of the Workshop consisted of welcome address by Chairman, ING-IABSE & ADG-MORTH (Shri V L Patankar) followed by address by Chief Guest, Secretary, RCD (Shri Pratyaya Amrit). After a brief coffee break, this was followed by presentations by 2 invited speakers. 1st presentation was made by Shri A P Pathak, CE(S&R), MORTH on “Movement of OWC/ODC on National Highways” and this was followed by a presentation by Shri Alok Bhowmick, Managing Director, B&S Engineering Consultants Pvt. Ltd. On “Effects of Overloading on Bridge Assets”. There was an interaction session after the presentations and the workshop concluded with a vote of thanks by Shri Manish Kataria, Secretary HTOA followed by Lunch. The workshop started with the Inaugural Session. The Chief Guest for the Workshop was Shri Pratyaya Amrit, Secretary, RCD, Patna, who presided over the Inaugural Session. Shri V L Patankar in his inaugural address explained the genesis of this Workshop and emphasised the need to disseminate the recent guideline issued by MORTH on 24th January 2013 with the objective of streamlining the approval process for granting of permission for passage of such OWC. He mentioned that this workshop is the first of a series of workshops that is planned by ING-IABSE all over the country for speedy implementation
The Bridge and Structural Engineer
of the MORTH guidelines on ODC/OWC. He also highlighted in his presentation the good works done by ING-IABSE in the past in dissemination of knowledge all over the country by conducting such seminars and workshops. He also emphasised that “Overloading” needs to be looked at not only in terms of how much load is being carried, but more importantly how it is carried. The deterioration caused in the road and bridge assets are more due to the inappropriate method of carriage of overloads and it is in this area where dissemination of knowledge is required. Shri Pratyaya Amrit, highlighted in his inaugural address the urgent need for conducting such workshops and thanked ING-IABSE in general and Shri V L Patankar in particular for the initiative taken in this regard and for choosing Patna as the venue for first such workshop. He hoped that the Workshop will enrich the knowledge base of the delegates and will help to not only expedite the approval process for passage of OWC/ODC but also will increase awareness of the delegates on safety aspects. Shri A P Pathak in his presentation explained that due to exponential growth in infrastructure sector, there is growing need for transportation of large overweight equipments, mainly in power sector and it was the need of the hour to formulate a policy for safe movement of such consignments in a time bound frame work. He gave the background, assumptions and the basis on which the MORTH guideline and the working charts were prepared. He explained in detail the applicability of the charts and it’s limitations. He also explained how the charts are to be used in actual practice. He explained the detailed procedure to be adopted for granting permission on OWC/ODC from MORTH. He also informed the delegates that for further smoothening the process of
Volume 44
Number 1
March 2014
vii