Our Vice Chairman is a visionary. He is suave, down to earth and research minded scholarly leader. Though he has always lead from the front, but he is totally self-effacing. He prefers to describe himself as an eternally inquisitive student since his childhood. His upbringing, schooling and subsequent Civil Engineering education were completed in Bihar. He studied at CMS higher Secondary school Bhagalpur (1956-1965) and thereafter Bhagalpur college of Engineering (1966-1971). He represented his college in Badminton, Table Tennis and debates. He was also very active in social services through the youth wings of Rotary International viz. ‘Interact’ as a member and ‘Rotract’, as the president. Since his adolescence, he was attached with various youth programmes of All India Radio and creative writing.Immediately after graduating in Civil Engineering with distinction, he worked as a part-time-lecturer in his own college. Soon enough, his students loved him more as a ‘Guide by the side’ and not as a ‘Sage on the stage’. In his spare time he would immerse himself in the plethora of books in the college library. During this period he realised that as a Civil Engineer he must have good field experience to practice what he was preaching to the students in his classes. Though he was offered a regular teaching position, he chose to serve HSCL (Hindustan Steelworks Construction Limited) at the lowest rung as the Technical Assistant. At that point in time HSCL was constructing the second largest steel plant in the country at Bokaro with Soviet Technology. He thoroughly utilised the opportunity of association with a mammoth project of National importance. There he keenly learned the nuances of Time, Resource and Construction management. During this stint he rubbed shoulders with highly experienced Russian Technicians. The foreigners were very particular about the minutest safety details to ensure that hazards within the steel plant do not turn in to disasters. In Bokaro, he was very active with an amateur musical choir, consisting of both Russian and Indian musicians.
In 1973 he joined the CDD (Central Design Directorate) of UP Irrigation department as an Assistant Engineer. Immediately after joining the CDD, he pioneered the use of CAD (Computer Aided Design) for the design of major/medium irrigation structures. He also provided simple mathematical solutions for the complex3-D problems of designing the downstream cut offs of cross regulators. Earlier the time taking model testing was the only solution for those problems. He was actively involved in designing the sediment free Ganga water supply system to Narora Atomic Plant. Here he worked on optimal utilisation of resources. He was the first ever engineer in his department to have presented a detailed technical paper on CAD before a distinguished and large gathering of professionals. Besides pursuing the professional goals, he was very active in social services. He and his wife took upon themselves to inculcate a sense of appreciation for hygiene and education amongst the urchins and the young rickshaw pullers living in their vicinity. The couple saw them through various competitive examinations.
During the Lucknow stay, he was quite active in dramatics also as a character actor, director, dialogue writer and music arranger. During those days, emergency was imposed in the country. The couple helped many suppressed and depressed persons through various yoga and meditation techniques of stress busting. In the process, he learned to handle the trauma of pre/during/post disasters and later effectively utilised these to reduce the negative effects on the emergency victims.
In 1977 he joined the IPBTS (Indian Posts and Telegraphs Building Services) through Indian Engineering Services as a group ‘A’ officer. He was the topper of his batch in his cadre.He diligently served the department (1977-1999) where he was credited for introduction of many innovative design and construction techniques viz. use of HPC (High Performance Concrete), trench-less technology, Menta Ray cable systems for towers, Under-reamed piles, etc. He designed and supervised the construction of various tall communication towers and high rise buildings(introducing the use of model testing in the wind tunnels) throughout the length and breadth of the country. From very early in his career, he was known for his effective time and cost management capabilities.
Just as the luck would have it,he was sent to the Bhagalpur University on deputation (1984-89) to get the various pending projects completed without any further time and cost over run.Besides teaching in the Engineering college, he planned, designed and supervised the construction of all pending projects. His work included the designing, planning and getting the first ever modern computer centre constructed in the University. He was made the officer-in-charge of this centre. He also designed and supervised the construction of an ethnic building for ‘Gandhian Thoughts’, a huge stadium, post graduate departments of Geography, Psychology, Social Sciences, Herbarium, Aquarium, Mycotoxin Lab,Animal House besides various dwelling units, hostels and typical structures,spread over a huge geographical area under the domain of the university. A large number of these buildings were conceived on the principles of‘Work-Time-Motion’ and ‘Climate Responses’ so that all these buildings took full advantages of natural resources like Sun, light and wind.
In 1986, the NPE (National Policyon Education), was introduced in the country. The NPE led special emphasis on vocationalisation of Education, besides the removal of disparities and to equalise educational opportunity. He was most actively involved in all the proceedings and writing the final reports. However, the most prestigious work,that he got done departmentally (without engaging any contractor or middleman),was the resurrection of a heritage building of the 17th Century. Originally it belonged to the Dutches, the earliest Indigo growers. Later it was inherited by the East India Company from them. Subsequently, in or around 1857, it became the official residence of the British collector, Augustus Cleveland. It is situated on the bank of river Ganga on a hillock. Therefore, it was popularly known as the ‘Tillah Kothi’ (Hillock House). After its renovation and resurrection, the University re-christened it as ‘Ravindra Bhawan’. In fact,the great poet Ravindra Nath Tagore had stayed in this house for sometime and penned few verses of his Nobel prize winning immortal work ‘Gitanjali’.
After completion of his deputation tenure in 1989, he went back to his parent organisation. In his department, he headed the structural design centre, the office of the superintending Engineer (arbitration) and worked as the director of Building Services in ALTTC (Advance Level Telecom Training Centre). He introduced the effective use of the latest computers softwares like STADD PRO and VENTURA in the system for optimised structural designing and progress monitoring. He introduced the concept of 6Sigma in the system as well. While serving the department, he was made the secretary of the innovative concept committee where he revolutionised the system of construction in the department by introducing use of modern materials and construction Technologies for quicker, stronger and cost effective structures. He headed various committees for the selection of departmental teams for cultural and sports activities. In the meanwhile he completed his research work and was awarded the Ph.D. on August 14, 1993,again the very first ever in his department. He also edited and published the maiden bilingual in-house magazine ‘PRAGATI’ which was widely read and appreciated.
In 1999, the prestigious organisation C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) requisitioned his services. C-DOT is owned by Government of India. He served there till his superannuation in 2009 in various capacities viz. Engineer-in-Chief cum General Manager (Campus), Appellate Authority, Chief Vigilance Officer and Head of Hindi Cell. Under his leadership, one of the most modern, Intelligent, green and prestigious campus (spread over 40 Acres) was completed in record time and within the estimated cost. It was designed to be a zero carbon foot prints campus. He introduced the use of screw chillers HVAC systems for the first time in the government against the conventional centrifugal and the reciprocating chillers. Various latest technological innovations, viz use of CaT6 cables,variety of latest sensors for different uses including movement sensors,sensors for automatic control of outdoor lighting. Sensors were also judiciously used for the most modern Sewerage Treatment Plant & auxiliary power sources, solar panels, highly reliable security systems and most effective fire mitigation systems. There was a paradigm shift in the concept of handling the menace of fire from the conservative firefighting system to fire engineering concept. These innovations helped the campus to reduce carbon footprints significantly. He extensively worked on early warning systems also for any disaster. However, his work of provision of 16 ground recharging wells, water bodies and creation of a huge green cover through ‘Akira Miyawaki’ afforestation technique besides‘Nakhatra Van’ were the icing on the cake. In C-DOT he developed a very effective method of conflict resolution also.
Though after the superannuation he was offered extension in C-DOT but he decided to move on and become a teacher. Due to his vast field experiences, immediately after his leaving the C-DOT, he was lapped up by various prestigious institutions viz. SPA (School of Planning & Architecture ND), Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University, ND,and Ansal University. He was appointed as a visiting professor in all these institutions. He mostly taught various aspects of management with special emphasis on safety of workers and the users besides professional ethics. He was nominated as a Member of Sub Committee on Quality Control (CED) Bureau of Indian Standards. He also served as the Member of Technical Advisory Committee-New Campus Development, IIM (Rohtak). He worked as the Honorary Advisor to the‘Approach International Group’ for matters pertaining to enhancement of Emotional Quotient of the employees. He served as an honorary Professor of Astrology in Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi for a long period. He co-authored various standard text books on Astrology which were based upon the scientific principles and had a very modern approach.
The honorable Chief Minister of Bihar, Mr. Nitish Kumar, appointed him as the first Pro Vice Chancellor of the first Technical University of the state, the AKU (Aryabhata Knowledge University) Bihar, on June 11, 2013.Immediately after joining the University, he ensured timely holding of all examinations and thereafter publication of result within a very short time by overhauling and streamlining the conventional systems. He was asked to design the new building for the university. This was the first ever major building in Bihar which was planned using Climate Responsive Architecture principles,ensuring that the campus was quite responsive to the expected climate changes.This campus also has very low carbon footprints. He ensured timely flow of funds from the government and its optimal utilisation for all the running projects.
Subsequently on March 16, 2014,he was given the additional charge of the acting Vice-Chancellor of the University. In this capacity he prepared the ambitious plan of the growth and future course of the university by properly interacting with commendable Institutions like IIM (Ahmedabad), DST (Department of Science and Technology) GoI,and AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) besides various other prestigious bodies. As a result, in no time the state government approved the proposal of establishment of Seven new schools in the University besides revamping and strengthening the existing Nano Science department. He ensured the purchase of the latest equipment for Nano Science lab to establish a world class research and incubation centre. With the help of NIC (National Informatics Centre) he designed and installed ‘Chanakya’, the software for in-house timely and error free publication of results. It was inaugurated by the Honorable Chief Minister himself. He was appointed as the Member of State Higher Education Committee where he ensured that all institutions of higher education got their fair share of funds and that they applied for NAC accreditation. He was made the Member of Supervisory Committee for Admission in unaided private Engineering and Polytechnic colleges of Bihar where despite his best efforts, no material improvement was achieved.
After having successfully completed one tumultuous year as the PVC and the Acting VC, he resigned from both the posts on 20th March, 2015. The Education department, while accepting his resignation, fully appreciated his commendable and sincere work of successfully performing his duties, both as the first pro vice chancellor and the acting vice chancellor.
On 15th April, 2015, he was appointed in the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) as the Member. He worked in that position till September 2021. The honorable Chief Minister cum the chairman of the Authority had appointed him to this coveted post. In this capacity he extensively worked on capacity building,preparedness, training, mitigation and rehabilitation before, during and after any disaster. His work also involved in introducing new technology for early warning systems to reach to the person on the last rung of society. A few months before his joining as the Member, BSDMA, in March 2015, the United Nations (UN)had adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR). In May2015, BSDMA started working on creating its own DRR Road map for 15 years(2015-2030). He played a major part in creating the first ever such road map inthe country. He extensively worked for the welfare of marginalised lot,including the children, ladies, old and infantile ones including physically challenged people and people belonging to the neutral gender. The efficacy of his original concept of shifting from the conventional Fire Fighting to Fire Engineering reaped rich dividends. He was appointed as the Chairman State Fire Safety Action Plan Monitoring Committee (He still heads this Committee). His original concept of a 16 point matrix check list for hospital fire safety resulted in ensuring reasonable fire safety of all the government hospitals in the state.He extensively introduced the use of ‘Fire Balls’ for fire fighting, instead of the conventional fire fighting equipment. His untiring work on Mukhya MantriSchool Suraksha Pariyojna, the Masons training programme, the safe Swim Programme, the rehabilitation efforts during the Covid endemic, floods and earthquakes are highly commendable.
Besides his own duties, he was additionally appointed as the Director at Bihar State Building Construction Corporation Ltd. (he still continues to work on the post) where he introduced extensive professional training at every level.
He was also appointed as the Chairman, Board of Governors, Bhagalpur College of Engineering for Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP I & II), Bihar. During his tenure, the college became one the most sought after Government Technical Institution for quality education due to its modernised laboratories and rich library.
The Chief Minister cum the Chairman BSDMA, appointed him as the Vice Chairman of the Authority on 12thSeptember, 2021 for a period of 5 years.
After his assumption as the Vice Chairman, with the blessings of the Honorable Chief Minister cum Chairman, BSDMA, the organisation has undergone an extensive metamorphosis. It has become highly Tech Savvy and motivated, totally committed to perform with dignity,with full empathy and above all absolute professionalism. The new office can give most of the corporate offices a good run for their money. The story of his multifaceted contribution in developing the BSDMA into a worth respecting and even envying organisation is etched everywhere on the web site of BSDMA. Besides being a great team leader, he is an outstanding family man. He is an extremely caring son of his mother and a doting proud father of his engineers on and architect daughter, both happily settled in their respective lives.
Since he is also an advanced level teacher of Art of Living, he looks at the life as the best teacher. He believes that all seemingly trying and adverse times are the best training opportunities for us for some similar difficult situations to come in future. Everything happening today in our lives is preparing us for a better future. Therefore, we must always work most sincerely but never seriously since life is a ‘present’ given to us.
You are not alone. Look around you and appreciate the bonding with people and nature that you are blessed with. Life is total bliss - life is a continuously exciting and greatly fun-filled carnival of Mother Nature. Live it fully, love it intensely and enjoy it collectively.