IIT (ISM) Dhanbad has brought experts from nine IITs and other premier institutions together for a two-day national workshop focused on dam safety and dam-break flood risk assessment, with the programme aimed at improving flood-risk modelling and emergency preparedness.
The workshop is being organised by the institute’s department of civil engineering with support from the Anusandhan National Research Foundation and the technology innovation hub at IIT Guwahati. It is part of IIT (ISM) Dhanbad’s centenary year celebrations and is being held at TEXMiN Hall in the i2H building.
The event has brought together academicians, researchers, dam-sector professionals, government departments and industry representatives. Chandra Shekhar Prasad Ojha of IIT Roorkee attended the inaugural session as chief guest. Keka Ojha, dean of continuing education and outreach at IIT (ISM), addressed the gathering, while Rajib Sarkar, head of the civil engineering department, welcomed participants.
Workshop convener Abhishek Kumar Pandey said ageing dams, changing hydrological conditions and extreme weather events had made dam safety a critical area of study. He said the programme was intended to bridge theoretical knowledge and practical applications through technical instruction and practical exercises.
Participants are receiving hands-on training in HEC-RAS and TELEMAC, software tools used for dam-break flood simulation, flood-wave propagation and inundation mapping. The training is designed to help participants assess how a dam failure could affect areas downstream and support the preparation of emergency responses.
Sarkar said dam safety and the protection of downstream communities were matters of national importance because dam failures could affect lives, livelihoods and infrastructure. Ojha said dam-break flood assessment should be incorporated into infrastructure planning. He cited simulations showing that the failure of an upstream dam could overtop a proposed barrage and also highlighted the possibility of cascading failures and downstream risks.
The first day of the workshop included seven lectures by experts from IIT Kharagpur, IIT Guwahati, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Jammu, among other institutions. The sessions scheduled for the following day include software training, emergency action planning and lectures by experts from IIT Madras and IIT Bombay.
