The Hindu Business Line : Universal Plumbing Code for India under study

Kochi March 26 Indian Plumbing Association, the national body of the plumbing industry, has called for measures to create public awareness about plumbing as it directly connects with the health and hygiene of society.

The country today needs a proper water and sanitation revolution to safeguard the health of the people because poor sanitary conditions and unsafe drinking water is responsible for the outbreak of several epidemics, Mr Sudhakaran Nair, President of IPA told Business Line.

Mr Nair, who is also the Executive Board Member of the World Plumbing Council, said that IPA had joined hands with the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) for the formation of the Universal Plumbing Code (UPC) in India.

UPC is a 75-year-old document that is adopted in the US and other developed countries. By adopting such standards, India will have a significant impact on the health and safety of the people and also raise professionalism in the industry.

A committee constituted by IPA is reviewing UPC to modify and suit it to Indian conditions. The process will be completed by the end of 2007 and thereafter, the Association will approach Government bodies to urge them to adopt it.

At present, plumbing work in India is carried out as per the National Building Code, which is published by the Bureau of Indian Standards, he said. In its efforts to mould good plumbers, he said, IPA has recently started an institute for plumbing in collaboration with the Pune Construction Engineering and Research Foundation on its campus.

To begin with, the Association has started a 3-month course. There are also plans to set up similar institutes in Hyderabad and Bangalore soon.

Besides, it is also working to set up a plumbing laboratory with world-class standards at the College of Engineering campus in Pune. An investment of Rs 20 lakh will be made for the facility, which will be operational within 2 months. Live demonstration of plumbing will take place in a 2000-sq ft laboratory, which will also have a library. International companies like Geberit of Switzerland had agreed to donate modern plumbing technology for display in the gallery, Mr Nair said.

Training inadequate

According to Mr Nair, developed countries are giving a lot of importance to plumbing by providing adequate education and training programmes. In the US, a plumber has to complete a 7-year course to suit the profession, he said.

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