05/06/2026
The Institution of Engineers (India), Jammu Centre celebrated World Environment Day on 5th June, 2026 with the theme “A Global Call for Climate Action”. The event was attended by Engineers from various Departments, Organizations and Senior Engineers along with Members of the Committee of IEI, Jammu Centre.
On this occasion, Dr. V. S. Senthil Kumar, IFS, Chief Conservator of Forests, Jammu, J&K Govt. was the Chief Guest and Dr. Pratik Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil (Environmental) Engineering, IIT, Jammu was the Keynote Speaker. Er. Anil Verma, FIE Chairman, IEI, Jammu Centre presided over the function.
In his Welcome Address, Er. Anil Verma mentioned about the Change of Climate in India by quoting early panicles formation on Mango trees in the month of Feb. which was too early vis-à-vis the yesteryears. It was a glaring example of climate change and requested all the stakeholders especially the ones associated with infrastructure development to plan in such a way that our mother earth’s ecological balance is not disturbed. He advocated for Ecologically sensitive wildlife/environmental corridors on the same lines as on Delhi-Dehradun expressway near Rajaji National Park.
Dr. Pratik Kumar, Keynote Speaker informed the audience that summer this year in India is 20C warmer than past decades. He also mentioned that scientific studies have proved that human driven climate change has made mother earth 10C hotter than it would have been otherwise.
He also informed that Hindu Kush Himalayas, could lose up to 75% of the glacier ice by 2100 if global temperatures keep rising this way. He requested for close coordination with academicians, Govt. and Industrialists to plan in a prudent manner for saving the climate.
Dr. V. S. Senthil Kumar, IFS, Chief Guest appreciated the concerted efforts put in by senior engineers for presenting the papers. He highlighted the action plan being undertaken by the Govt. of J&K to address Climate Change; the main focus areas of the Govt. being tourism, ecosystem preservation and disaster management. He underlined various steps been taken-up to mitigate unprecedented environmental challenges – climate change, bio diversity loss, pollution, degradation of natural resources and increasing pressure on eco-system and underlined the need to develop the sustainable solutions that balance development with environmental stewardship.
During the seminar, Er. P. K. Nanda, FIE; Er. B. L. Rawal, FIE; Er. Gopal Krishna Sharma FIE; Er. Ranjeev Sawhney, MIE; Er. Joy Ganjoo, AM Technologist & Er. Anil Kumar, AMIE also presented their papers on the theme.
The innovative efforts of Er. Sanjeev Rohmetra, Executive Engineer and Former Nodal Officer, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijili Yojana for JPDCL were lauded by the house which resulted in getting Power Development Department recognised at National level by bagging 2nd prize on 4th June 2026 by Ministry of Power in New Delhi. Pertinently, 40MW of Solar Power has been added by virtue of this.
Er. Avneet Gupta, MIE, Honorary Secretary, IEI Jammu Local Centre presented the Vote of Thanks to the august gathering and media personnel for active participation.
