The World
Science Day, 2021 was observed by the Institution of Public Health Engineers,
India on 10th November, 2021. A virtual group discussion through
Google meet was arranged by the Institution on the theme of the year, ‘Science
for the Society for dealing with Covid-19’.
The event presided
by Prof. K. J. Nath, President, IPHE and having Padma Bhushan Dr. BindeswarPathak
as the Guest of Honourwas held for about an hour from 6.30 pm onwards on the
day.The event started with self- introduction of the participantsfollowed by a
presentation made by Dr. N. B. Basu, Vice-President, IPHEon ‘Climate Change’.
The presentation was followed by a thought provoking speech delivered by Dr.
Pathak on ‘Role of Sulabh International in the Society with special reference
to Science, Sanitation and Covid-19’.
The
presentation and the speech were followed by lively discussions by the
participants, who also shared thoughts and experiences based on the basic theme
of the day. Amongst the participants, Prof. K. J. Nath, President, IPHE; Dr. N.
B. Basu, Vice-President, IPHE; ShriJ. C. Ganguli, Council Member; and fellow
members ShriParitoshTyagi, Prof. S. K. Mazumder, Dr. Milanjit Bhattacharya, Dr.
Prashant Singh, Smt. Arul Ram, Shri A. K. Mohantaand Shri H. R. Gaidhani took
active part in the lively discussions and shared personal thoughts on the theme
of the day. Presidential address was made by Prof. K. J. Nath, President, IPHE;
who also recalled long association of Dr. Pathak with IPHE. The event ended
with the formal vote of thanks and concluding remarks offered by Dr. N. B.
Basu, Vice-President, IPHE. The event was coordinated by Shri K. A. Roy,
Council Member, IPHE, India.
The key
issues discussed by the speakersand the participants on the occasion include
i) importance,
threat and risk due to climate change of the planet earth;
ii) role of
IPHE and its members in public awareness generation about caring for the climate
of the planet, particularly in the extreme climate situations;
iii) need,
ways and means for providing proper sanitation facilities for all;
iv) need for
human resource development for addressing the environmental issues, particularly
in the ongoing pandemic situation due to Covid-19.
