Relevance of Civil Engineering in Overall Infrastructural Development

The world has realised that a government should not involve itself in production and distribution but develop infrastructure to create an atmosphere for economical development. The visible signs of current shortfalls include increasingly congested roads, power failures, shortage of drinking water, etc. These illustrate the widening gap between demand and supply of infrastructure.

• Infrastructure can be defined as the physical and organizational structures and facilities like buildings, roads etc. needed for the operation of a society. They are required for the economic development of the country

• The infrastructure requirements can be broadly grouped under the following categories: Buildings, Roads, Railways, Bridges, Airports, Dams and Canals, Electric Power Stations, Factories, Industrial Town ships

The role of Civil Engineering activities in the infrastructural development can be summarised as follows:

• To plan, design, build, supervise, operate and maintain civil engineering infrastructural projects and systems in public and private system

• Has to carry out research and training programs to improve the technology

• Key to modern civilization and facilities like transportation, communication, irrigation facilities etc., for the economical development of a country

• Economic Infrastructure – Contributes directly to the economic development of the country

• Social Infrastructure - Education and training, social welfare, housing, water supply etc. which will influence indirectly on economic development

• A proper planning of towns and extension areas in the cities.

• Fast rate of urbanisation and increase in the cost of land has forced civil engineers to go for vertical growth in cities. This has resulted in new building technologies and sophisticated analysis methods. Civil engineers have to solve problems of rural areas as well. Low cost housing is the need of the hour to make poor people afford their own houses.

• Water is an important need for all living beings. Civil engineers have to explore into various water resources and ensure water supply to urban areas throughout the year. Water is required for agriculture also.

• Good roadways and transportation facilities include another important amenity of the public which civil engineers deliver.

• Other important infrastructural activities of civil engineers are controlling pollution of air, water and land.

The impact of infrastructural development of a country

► Provide protection from drought, famine, flood, etc.

► Improved irrigation facilities → Better sewage system

► Improved education facilities

►Improvement in transportation and communication

►Generation of electricity from natural resource

► Increase in food production » Improved , wealth, prosperity & standard of living