Chennai: Industry, academia and society have to work in tandem in an increasingly inter-disciplinary environment to make a breakthrough in solid waste management as well as in tackling air and water pollution, experts said at a panel discussion on challenges and opportunities in environmental waste management for sustainable growth of industries organised by SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur recently.
The panel was headed by president of Orchid Pharma Limited and former chairman of Industrial Waste Management Association S Mani. During the discussion he said that there was tremendous scope for re-engineering and reverse engineering to destress the environment.
“Industry and academia can not work in silos and somewhere bridges have to be built to come up with solutions,” added Mani in a three-day international conference. He also presided over the valedictory session.
Professor from Portsmouth University in UK and alumnus of SRM University, Pattanathu Rahman, called for efforts to minimise food and water waste. Other panelists included deputy general manager of TNPL, S Subramanian, eminent industrial scientist G Sekaran, R Chandra Mohan of ChennaI Petroleum Corporation Limited, Bhatnagar Awardee scientist S Venkata Mohan, former secretery of IWMAN Ramadoss and entrepreneur Kaja Mohideen .
The conference was inaugurated by Director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow Alok Dhawan. Addressing the delegates Dhawan urged students to resolve local problems pertaining to air and water pollution using high end science.
Welcoming the delegates, Vice-Chancellor of SRM Institute of Science and Technology Sandeep Sancheti lamented that there was hardly any waste disposal policy in India pertaining to automobiles or old houses which were hazardous to life and limb. Paolo Monica Talia from Argentina, Ramon A Batista(Mexico), Elisabet Aranda(Spain) and B Ravindran(South Korea), are among the speakers.