Workshop on Integrated Urban Flood Management in Hyderabad: Technology Driven Solutions, October 31, 2015

About:

Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management (CEWRM), Department of Civil Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani- Hyderabad campus organized Workshop on Integrated Urban Flood Management in Hyderabad: Technology Driven Solutions on October 31, 2015 with the objective to create a platform for academicians, scientists, research scholars, NGOs for sharing their views; have improved understanding and knowledge in the urban flood management, Hyderabad.

A total of 37 participants took part in the workshop. Workshop is part of sponsored project entitled Integrated Urban Flood Management: Technology driven solutions, sponsored by IT Research Academy (ITRA) is a National Programme initiated by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Government of India with the aim to promote research that help society.

Invited lectures were on:

1. Dr. Basudev Biswal and Dr. Riddhi Singh of Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad delivered invited lecture on Storage-Discharge Analysis and Dealing with Hydrological Model Uncertainty Through Bottom-up Approaches: Consequences for Urban Flood Management.
2. Dr. Anamika Barua, Executive Director of SaciWATERs, Hyderabad delivered invited lecture on Urban Flood Management: A Governance Perspective. She explained the role of good governance for handling the floods. She related lecture with various examples.
3. Dr. N Sai Bhaskar Reddy, Geoecologist, Hussain Sagar Lake and Catchment Area Improvement Project (HCIP), NJS Consultants Co. Ltd., Hyderabad during his guest lecture discussed on Urban Floods - An Opportunity for Water Conservation. He mentioned that urban floods can be envisaged as boon. He also discussed various challenges in Hyderabad flood management and some technological solutions.

Six theme based sessions are conducted in the afternoon for discussion:

• Theme 1: Flood risk management policy and strategic planning
• Theme 2: Flood forecasting and early warning systems
• Theme3: Flood resilient societies through community preparedness
• Theme 4: Role of training and information networking
• Theme5: Impact of climate change on Urban Flood management in mega cities
• Theme 6: Social impacts (Economic, Health and Community) due to Urban Flooding