Vashi students win elocution on eco-friendly infrastructure

Two students of Agnel Polytechnic, Vashi, V Jimmy Chacko and Rahul M. Sonar recently won a trophy at an elocution competition organised by Builders’ Association of India (BAI), the apex all India body of Engineering Construction contractors and Builders.

Organised on the theme “Responsible Infrastructure”, the elocution competition was held at VJTI at Matunga on 23rd March, as a part of their Builders’ Day celebration. The theme was selected to create awareness about the damage caused to ecology due to the spurt of development and also to create a culture of responsibility in the future generation by focusing on inclusive, green and socially responsible infrastructure.

Chacko and Sonar who are students of second year diploma in civil engineering were awarded individual trophies and certificates for their achievements. “We mainly focused on talking about ideas of different types of infrastructure and how they can be improved. We took up trans- port infrastructure, wherein we spoke about the goods train and how that can be made into a double-decker train and twice the amount of goods can be distributed and supplied. Secondly, we also spoke about road infrastructure, wherein we suggested an alternative for a sky-walk, an underground walk-way,” said 19-year old Jimmy Chacko.

“The topic of responsible infrastructure is so vast, so the best way was to cite actual existing examples. We used international and Indian examples of good and bad infrastructures to highlight about responsible infrastructure and its importance. One of the cases we spoke about was how Indian buses have changed over time. Buses generally have high steps, but now the newer AC buses have been more responsible and kept a low-rise footboard, making it easier for senior citizens and pregnant women,” said 17-year old Rahul Sonar.