CWC joins hands with NITs for rehabilitation, safety of dams

The Central Water Commission (CWC) has joined hands with the National Institutes of Technology, in Calicut and Rourkela, for capacity building of the dams and their safety and rehabilitation.
The CWC has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the NIT-Calicut and NIT-Rourkela, as part of the Union Water Resources Ministry's effort to take onboard selected premier academic and research institutions for capacity building in the areas of dam safety through World Bank- assisted dam rehabilitation and improvement project (DRIP).
"The scope (of the work) includes strengthening the testing laboratories, enhancing analytical capabilities, exposure visits to best global institutions and on ground exposure to dam safety concerns to the faculty of these institutions," the ministry said in a statement.

The CWC had earlier signed MoUs with IIT-Madras and Indian Institute of Science-Bengaluru in January and the ministry is supporting these institutes for the procurement of specified equipment and software for enhancing their testing and modelling capabilities.
The DRIP is assisting rehabilitation of 225 dams in seven states. Owners of these dams require technical support for the investigation of dam conditions and supporting rehabilitation efforts.
The government has decided to enhance the capability of selected premier academic institutes in dam safety areas so that they, in turn, carry out field investigations and material testing, and provide training and consulting services to the dam owners in their dam rehabilitation efforts.