Three-day 24th annual convention on urban planning inaugurated at Lovely Professional University

Jalandhar, February 17, 2023: India’s reputed organisation of planning students ‘NOSplan’ inaugurated its 24th annual convention- ‘CIVITAS-2023’ at Shanti Devi Mittal auditorium of the host Lovely Professional University (LPU), today.

Nearly 700 students of India’s top 26 colleges of architecture, planning & engineering from different states of India, including North East, West Bengal, Southern, Western and Northern regions are participating in it. A large number of result-oriented urban planners with strong organizational, practical, and problem-solving abilities of relevant expertise will address the budding planners of the country during different sessions of the convention.

Convention is to develop the community of planning students of the country to become better planning professionals of tomorrow. In fact, it’s a platform for interaction between the planning students and the entire planning fraternity at large. It is to provide a constructive platform for student planners to raise their voices and project their ideas about current planning practices.

President of the national executive council of NOSplan, Chidambari Kulkarni and Vice President Jalaj Rana welcomed the Chief Guest of the inaugural ceremony, LPU’s Pro Chancellor Rashmi Mittal. Retd Chief Town Planner R. Srinivas, Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Sanjay Modi; Head, Division of Architecture & Design, Dr Ar Atul Singla; DTP from Haryana Arvinder Dhull and Head Division of Student Welfare Dr Sorabh Lakhanpal also shared the main dais.

Congratulating the budding planners from all parts of the country for being an eminent part of the convention, Pro Chancellor Mittal advised them to learn from one another amid much diversity at the campus for propagating bright planning works ahead. Advising them to make use of this advantage, she continued that this will indeed create a wide network for doing much in the field of future urban planning.

Retd CTP, R. Srinivas, who has worked in Town and Country Planning Organization (TCPO), rendered technical advice on various issues pertaining to town planning and urban development. He advised students to identify reforms wherever they find out. The need of the hour is to learn from instances like pandemic, Turkey earthquake and many more and implement those in future planning.

Lamenting the current crisis in Turkey & Syria internationally and Joshimath in the country; Dr Ar Atul Singla signalled alertness towards secure urban planning. Laying responsibility on planners for befitting architectural designs, Mr Singla suggested to re-think traditional urban planning.  Prof Dr Modi talked about drinking water scarcity, and how to tackle this in future plannings. He also referred to submerging problems in Mexico, Venice and more.

The event comprises four parts, including planning, publication, entertainment and gaming, to honour the winning students on the culminating day. Here, the Roman implied word ‘Civitas’ denotes a body of urban planners constituting an organized community for the betterment in future architecture planning.