Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy advised engineers to come up with technological solutions for problems being faced by people in their day-to-day life. The speed and quality of metro rail construction should be emulated by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and other government organisations to make Hyderabad a better city.
He was addressing a conference on ‘Technological advances in concrete pavements and bridges’ held by the Indian Concrete Institute here on Saturday. The Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) has saved two lakh tonnes of cement and lakhs of litres of water by opting to use fly ash and special ‘curing compound’ during the construction of the project, said managing director N.V.S. Reddy.
While technological advances in concrete have played a vital role in the progress of human civilisation, there was an urgent need for quantum jump and revolutionary breakthroughs in the field of construction as it happened in the fields of computers and telecom to meet the increasing demand for better living conditions.
Giving examples of innovations in the metro project, he pointed out at pre-cast construction of the entire station on central pillars and the viaduct construction with longer spans over road junctions using segmental construction method.
Engineers have to think innovatively to reduce infrastructure costs by shedding insular approach, and closely interact with builders and industrialists to understand the market needs. Equal importance should be given to aesthetics and quality, he added.
