Date:03/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/03/stories/2008010354060500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

All set for Indian Science Congress

G. Narasimha Rao

Photo: K.R. Deepak

Good response: Delegates waiting for registrations for the ISC at AU in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. —

VISAKHAPATNAM: The 95th Indian Science Congress being hosted by Andhra University, one of the oldest educational institutions of the country, from January 3 to 7 is bringing together nearly 8,000 scientists, including 500 from abroad for discussions on various topics centred around the focal theme of knowledge-based society using environmentally sustainable science and technology.

The annual meet is a prestigious one and Andhra University administration made all efforts to make it a success. The preparations involved accommodating the thousands of delegates and others, making special arrangements for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who will inaugurate the Congress, sprucing up the campus, erecting huge temporary structures for the main venue, children’s exhibition and food courts, etc.

A large number of students from the campus colleges and affiliated colleges have been engaged as volunteers to guide the delegates. Individual volunteers have been attached to each of the important delegates, whose number is not small. The newly built bio-technology and microbiology building, commerce, botany, zoology and law college buildings are the venues of many sessions of the Congress. Four food courts are arranged on the playground front of the Law College so that the delegates need not walk much from the venues of scientific sessions. For the last many weeks Vice-Chancellor L. Venugopal Reddy, local secretaries of the Congress P. Veerraju and P. Rajendra Prasad along with Registrar P. Vijaya Prakash, Rector B. Satyanarayana, convenors and members of 23 committees formed for carrying out different tasks are completely engaged in preparations for the Congress.

Thanks to the Science Congress the university campus and many roads in the city, through which the VVIPs pass received a face lift. The food courts being manned by star hotels are expected to be a gourmet’s delight and the organisers have prepared menu reflecting traditional Andhra food items. The Children’s Science Congress must ignite the young minds while the presence of noted scientist and former President APJ Abdul Kalam should add value to the Congress. The scientists can relax a lot in the evenings after attending deliberations at the Convocation. AU has lined up some top artistes like Yella Venkateswara Rao, Swati Somanath, R.P. Patnaik and Perini Sivatandavam troupe from Hyderabad while 16 school children from the US will perform a dance. Students from Ethiopia who have joined in several courses in the campus this year will present a folk dance. A professor will stage mono action and an employee will perform a dance.