NGS celebrates the Silver Jubilee

On 18 May 2019 (Saturday), Nepal Geotechnical Society celebrated its 25th Anniversary at Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur together with a total of 180 invitees ad participants. Divided into two segments; Memorial Lecture Program in the first half and Silver Jubilee Celebration Program in the later half, the celebration program started at 2:00 in the afternoon and ended at 9:00 in the evening.

The Memorial Lecture Program consisted of two scientific lectures and one business promotional lecture. The Vice President of International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), Prof. Eun Chul Shin from Incheon National University of South Korea was invited for one Memorial Lecture on a foundation-related topic while Nepal Geotechnical Society President, Prof. Dr. Netra Prakash Bhandary from Ehime University of Japan delivered another Memorial Lecture on a Landslide- and laboratory experiment-related topic. The third lecture was delivered by Terre Armee (the Prime Sponsor of NGS Silver Jubilee Celebration Program) representatives from India and Nepal on the company activities and projects.

In the second segment, NGS Silver Jubilee Celebration Ceremony was held. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Honorable Raghubir Mahaseth, who is also a civil engineer was invited to the program as Chief Guest while Ex-minister for Education Dr. Gangalal Tuladhar, representing Himalaya Conservation Group and ISSMGE Vice President Prof. E. C. Shin were invited as Guests of Honor. Among the other invited dignitaries were Director General of the Department of Roads, Presidents and Representatives of various professional societies of Nepal including Nepal Engineers’ Association, Society of Nepalese Architects, Structural Engineers’ Association Nepal, Society of Consulting Architectural and Engineering Firms, Society of Nepalese Engineering Geologists, Dean of Institute of Science and Technology, Pokhara University, etc. The program was chaired by the president of Nepal Geotechnical Society Prof. Dr. Netra Prakash Bhandary.

The Silver Jubilee Celebration Ceremony started with a welcome address by the program committee chair Er. Shiv Prasad Nepal (DDG, Department of Roads). Then, the Chief Guest unveiled the Silver Jubilee Logo and Banner, which was then followed by congratulatory remarks of the Director General of Department of Roads and the Guests of Honor Dr. Ganagalal Tuladhar and Prof. E. C. Shin. The Chief Guest and the Guests of Honor jointly unveiled and released the Silver Jubilee Memoirs, a book  compiled of congratulatory messages, a few write-ups, and abstracts of the papers presented in the 2018 national symposium. On the same occasion, the Chief Guest also launched the NGS YouTube Channel.

In his congratulatory remarks, honorable minister Mahaseth expressed his surprises to have known on this day itself that there is a geotechnical society in Nepal too! However, he promised to extend all his support to this society and would surely like to have an interaction program with all NGS officials soon. Encouraged by this, the executive officials are now planning an official delegation to the minister some time soon to discuss various issues in the field of geotechnical engineering and infrastructure development.

In the program, the NGS awardees were presented their awards and various consulting and construction firms and manufacturers were also presented letters of appreciation for their support to Nepal Geotechnical Society. The chief guest, guests of honor and all invited dignitaries were also presented tokens of love by the president of Nepal Geotechnical Society. In the end, the program chair and the president of Nepal Geotechnical Society, Prof. Netra Prakash Bhandary gave vote of thanks on the society’s behalf and put the whole program to an end with his closing remarks. The president appreciated the support of all participants, the chief guest, the guests of honor, all invited dignitaries, the prime sponsor and all other sponsors, and the hotel for the venue.

The daytime program was followed by a cocktail dinner and Nepali music and songs by a young group of engineers. This was probably the biggest event in the history of Nepal Geotechnical Society in terms of number of participants. Thanks to all helping hands and participants!