Speakers at the national convention on plumbing have called for sustained efforts for water conservation and to step up awareness on safe sanitation.

The 16th Indian Plumbing Conference, jointly organised by the Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) and Akar InfoMedia Pvt. Ltd (AIM), was inaugurated here on Thursday by Prof V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Principal Secretary, State Science and Technology Department.

The two-day conference will debate on the theme ‘Water sustainability: Codes, education, implementation, monitoring.’

In his inaugural address, Prof Pillai said that water is a scarce resource, but it is in a neglected state. The government should take serious note of the recommendations of the plumbing body.

He also called upon plumbers to upgrade their skills considering the job opportunities in the construction sector.

Prof Pillai also released Uniform Solar Energy Code-India (USEC-I) brought-out by IPA and IAPMO-India.

Mr Sudhakaran Nair, president of IPA and deputy chairman of World Plumbing Council, shared with the audience the multi-pronged approach of IPA to create awareness about plumbing, which is very crucial and yet very neglected aspect of building services.

He said that the national plumbing conventions organised by IPA since 2003 have helped tremendously in creating awareness about better plumbing practices in the country. These conventions have played a pivotal role in propagating the adoption of better techniques for drainage solutions, water heating, rainwater harvesting, water recycling and so on.

Mr P Ramachandran, chairman of IPA’s Kerala chapter, said it was a pity that Kerala is starving for water in spite of 3,000 mm rainfall and practically all sources of water, seawater, rainwater, lake water and backwaters. The association is keen to work with the government and realtors to address the issue of sustainable solutions for water, he said.

Dr A, Ramakrishna, director, International Infrastructure Consultants Pvt Ltd, delivered the keynote address.

A large exhibition of latest and innovative plumbing and allied products of various companies is on at the convention venue.

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