IE(India) AP State Centre at a glance :

HISTORY:

On 15th November, 1938 the Andhra Pradesh State Centre of the Institution of Engineers (India), then known as Hyderabad Centre of IEI, was inaugurated by the Late Sir Akbar Hydari, President of the Nizam's Executive Council. The first Chairman was the Late Shri Hassan Latif , the first Hon.Secretary was late Shri Dildar Hussain who later had the distinction of having been elected as the
President of IEI.

Prior to the formation of the Hyderabad Centre, the area then forming part of Hyderabad State was attached to the Bombay Centre and the Andhra area forming part of Madras State was part of the Madras Centre. Following the reorganisation of the States, the geographical boundaries of the Centre have been altered in 1956 to extend over Andhra Pradesh comprising of Telangana area of Hyderabad State and the Andhra area of Madras State.

Allotment of Land to the Centre :

The office of the Local Centre was initially housed in a room allotted to it free of rent in the PWD Secretariat. It continued to be there until 1942 when owing to the expansion of the Secretariat, the Office had to be shifted to a wing to the premises of the Hyderabad Water Works in Saifabad, although the paper meetings of the Centre continued to be held in the Committee Room of the Secretariat. In 1944, it was shifted to the office of the State Mechanical Engineer in the Mint Compound. In 1944, the Late Nawab Zain Yar Jung, MIE then Hon'ble Minister incharge of the PWD(Hyderabad State) in the reception held in his honour, emphasised the immediate need for a building fund. On a suggestion of Shri Dildar Hussain, a plot of land in Khairatabad belonging to the Water Works department was recommended to be granted by the Government for constructing the building of the Centre of IEI.

Construction of Centre's Building :

The foundation stone of the building was laid on 25th November 1945, by Nawab Sir Ahmed Sayeed Khan (Nawab of Chhatari), then President of Nizam's Executive Council. The ground floor of the building was partly completed to the extent possible with the available funds and the office of the Local Centre was moved into it in February, 1947. The first meeting of the Centre in the new building was its 9th Annual General Meeting held on 25th February, 1947. The first floor of the building completed in 1957. The Headquarters of the IEI had granted Rs. 25,000/- and the balance of Rs. 1,49, 581/- was contributed by members, philanthropists etc. for building fund.

Unveiling the Portraits of Royal Engineers :

The Centre celebrated the Centenary of Irrigation in Andhra Pradesh on 25th August 1959 which amounted the commemoration of the Centenary of SIR ARTHUR THOMAS COTTON, celebrated Royal Engineer, affectionately and reverentially known as "FATHER OF IRRIGATION IN INDIA". The function was presided over by Dr Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The Rt. Hon'ble Malcolm MacDonald, High Commissioner for U K in India unveiled the Portraits of Arthur Cotton, General Charles A Orr ((builder of Krishna Anicut and Canals), and Col J Pennicuick (builder of Periyar Dam and canals). Royal Engineers who by their unique engineering skills, devotion and sincerity, harnessed the waters of Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery in the service of Mankind and particularly Indian people. A Commemoration Volume "A Century of Irrigation in India-Godavari and Krishna Deltas 1859-1959" was brought out on the occasion by an eminent engineer-statesman, Shri Dildar Hussain, MIE.

Unveiling the Portrait of Sir MV :

The National Council of Institution thought it fit to pay rich tributes to the Legendary Son of India, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya during his Centenary Celebrations. The Andhra Pradesh State Centre organised a colourful programme on this occasion on 15th September, 1960. During the Centenary Celebrations of Sir M V on 15.9.1960, rich tributes have been paid by the then Hon'ble Minister for Public Works, Govt. of A P. He exhorted in his address to emulate the great qualities and contributions made to the Mankind by Sir M V and unveiled the portrait of Sir M V in the Assembly Hall of the A P State Centre of IEI in commemoration of the historical event.

Unveiling the Portrait of Nawab Zain Yar Jung :

In recognition of the services rendered by Nawab Zain Yar Jung Bahadur, MIE President of the Institution of Engineers (India) in getting the site for the Hyderabad Centre building sanctioned and in raising funds in construction of the Building to the Centre, his portrait was unveiled in the Assembly Hall on 17.12.1961 by Lt.Gen.Sir Herold Williams, Past President of IEI. He paid glowing tributes to the services of the Nawab Saheb as an Architect, as an Engineer and as an Administrator, in particular to the growth of the IEI. The A P Centre brought out a Memorial Volume entitled "Glimpses of Engineer-Statesman of Hyderabad (Deccan)" authored by Shri Dildar Hussain, MIE Past President of IEI.

Unveiling the Portrait of Dr K L Rao :

In recognition of the meritorious services rendered by Dr K L Rao Hon.Life MIE, then Union Minister for Irrigation and Power, to the nation, the Institution of Engineers (India) and to A P Centre in particular, his portrait was unveiled in the Assembly Hall of the A P Centre by His Excellency, SHRI P CHANDRA REDDY, Govenor of A P on December 15, 1963.

Unveiling the Statue of Sir M V in 1966 :

The Giant of an Engineer and an able Statesman, Dr K L Rao, Honorary Life Member of IEI, who was the Union Minister for Irrigation and Power at that time, inaugurated the 44th Annual Convention and also delivered the "Seventh Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Memorial Lecture". During his Lecture, Dr K L Rao suggested that a statue of SIR MV be erected in twin cities in commemoration of the services rendered by SIR M V to the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. It may be recalled that the statue of SIR M V was erected by the Andhra Pradesh State Centre was unveiled by the then President of India, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on November 12, 1966. Consequent to this, the Centre's building was later named as "Visvesvaraya Bhavan".

Local Centres :

The Andhra Pradesh State Centre has more than 32000 Corporate and Non-Corporate Members on its rolls. At present there are seven Local Centres at Cuddapah, Kakinada, Guntur, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Warangal attached to the A P State Centre. The A P State Centre has also built up a good Library with about seventeen thousand books including ISI standards. The A P State Centre has been one of the active Centres of the Institution and successfully translating the objectives and ideals of IEI into practice.

GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATION OF APSC(1938-1988):

The Andhra Pradesh State Centre of IEI which was inaugurated on 15th November, 1938 and on completion of 50 years of fruitful service in the cause of the profession, has organised Golden Jubilee Celebrations during 1987-88.

DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF APSC(1938-1998):

The Andhra Pradesh State Centre of IEI on completion of 60 years of its fruitful service in the cause of profession in general and the State of Andhra Pradesh in particular, has observed the year 1997-1998 as Diamond Jubilee Year and orgaised a number of professional activities. During the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, the Centre had the privilege of honouring 28 Veterans those who were born in 1920 or earlier at the Inaugural and APEX Functions of Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.

With the unfailing enthusiasm and cooperation of all members of this Centre and the encouragement from Government of A P and various industries, the A P State Centre has a bright future and is bound to serve the profession of engineers in a far greater measure than in the past. It must be mentioned here that the band of devoted staff of this Centre has been a real strength behind growth and efficient functioning of this State Centre. This Centre has been acclaimed as one of the very active Centres of the IEI and has many firsts to its credit. Realising the need for engineers fitting into higher administrative talents amongst engineers, a number of various developmental programmes were organised which received considerable encouragement from all quarters.

The A P State Centre since its inception, had to its credit, organised a number of All India Seminars, Symposia, International Conferences, National Conventions, threee Annual Conventions (35th, 44th and 61st). The A P State Centre has organised II Indian Engineering Congress and XV Indian Engineering Congress at Hyderabad in 1988 and 2000 respectively.

FORA OF IE(I)

RURAL DEVELOPMENT FORUM (RDF):

The Rural Development Forum (RDF) was established at Calcutta in 1985 to encourage and promote multi-faceted development of Rural India. The RURAL DEVELOPMENT FORUM is a quest for developing and promoting newer technologies to improve the rural life. The stimulating write-up on the aims and objects of the Forum helps us catch up with some bright ideas as to how our rural sector can absorb newer technologies and engineering, based on the infrastructure and skill available there. In recognition of the need for such an enterprise, the Council of the Institution of Engineers (India) enacted a statute to create the Forum in 1985. There is a Board of Governors consisting of engineers, academicians, designers and social scientists who execute a nationwide plan of action. The first Chairman of the RDF was world-renowned Engineer Statesman, Dr Amithabha Bhattacharya. Er C R Dutta, FIE is the present Chairman of Board of Governors of RDF..

The Board of Governors desired that the Regional Centres be located and start functioning getting in touch with different organisations who are involved with the rural development projects.

Southern Regional Centre of the RURAL DEVELOPMENT FORUM was inaugurated at Hyderabad by President of the Institution of Engineers (India) on 30th March, 1996.

The objects and purpose for which the RDF is constituted are to promote the general advancement of engineering for Rural Development and to facilitate exchange of opinion of ideas on this subject among the members and persons attached to the RDF and otherwise and for that purpose.

WATER MANAGEMENT FORUM (WMF):

Progress of a country greatly depends on its capability to harness the resources endowed by the nature. Among many, water resources is of late considered to be a scarce resource on account of disproportionate increase in population. Water is not only scarce but also most important resource for existence of life on the earth. In our country, a great amount of importance is laid on

judicious utilisation of Water for various uses such as drinking, industrial, domestic, agriculture and hydro-power etc. At this juncture, the IEI could not choose to be a mute spectator and in order to help Governments and the users, established a Forum called Water Management Forum (WMF) with the Headquarters at Ahmedabad.

For functional facility, it was decided to have Regional Centre of WMF and A P State Centre is privileged to have Southern Regional Centre of WMF located at Hyderabad to serve for Southern States viz., A P, Tamilnadu, Kerala and Karnataka. The WMF, Southern Regional Centre was inaugurated at Hyderabad on the Foundation Day of A P State Centre i.e.on November 14, 1999 by Er Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, the then Hon'ble Minister for Agriculture, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FORUM (SDF):

The natural resources are to be nurtured for the coming generations as our forefathers were responsible for laying down very strict rules regarding their usage. In this direction, the Sustainable Development Forum (SDF) was established with its Headquarters at Calcutta to propagate the principles of sustainable development, which means to establish a proper relationship with nature and human activities.

REPUTATION AND CONFIDENCE:

Honours Conferred

The Andhra Pradesh State Centre has provided three Presidents of IEI viz - Er NAWAB ZAIN YAR JUNG BAHADUR, Er DILDAR HUSSAIN and Dr K L Rao. Dr K L Rao wasn honoured with Hon.Life MIE of IEI, which is an unique honour reserved only for very eminent engineers and outstanding professionals in the areas of economic, science etc.

It is a proud privilege to the A P State Centre to conferred the highest honour of "Honorary Fellowship of IEI" on Dr C Rangarajan, His Execellency the Governor of Andhra Pradesh at a function held on January 5, 1998 at our ESCI campus.

Southern Regional Centres of FORA in A.P.

The IEI has been striving to cater to the changing demands of the fraternity. In an axiomatic approach, IEI has thus developed and established specialised FOR A akin to the ESCI as an endeavour to provide adequate technical input to the engineering fraternity and through them, to the people of the Country.

A P State Centre's Service to Govt.

The Andhra Pradesh State Centre of the Institution of Engineers
(India) strives to live upto the reputation built up by its predecessors. The Government of Andhra Pradesh also reposed confidene in the A P State Centre as an Professional Body with whom the Government can have continuous interaction to refine the procedures for improving efficiency and economy and promoting technical excellence in the execution of Public Works vide G.O. Ms. No. 234 dt. 3.6.1987.

The A P State Government has recently issued orders vide G O Ms. No. 64 dated 2.5.1998 and 67 dated 16.5.1998 directing the concerned authorities to utilise the services of qualified engineers who are registered with the Institution of Engineers (India) for carrying out detailed investigations, preparation of designs, drawings and estimates, relating to irrigation projects in the State. The above two are feathers in the cap of the Andhra Pradesh State Centre during the Diamond Jubilee Year.